The Denel offices in Irene Centurion, 19 May 2021. Picture: Jacques Nelles
The Johannesburg Labour Court on Wednesday ordered Denel to pay up R90 million within the next 10 days to members of the trade union, Solidarity.
The court order against the cash-strapped state arms manufacturer comes after Solidarity pursued a lawsuit against Denel over unpaid salaries and other payments due to its members.
This case also followed a previous court victory last year, when Solidarity received warrants to seize Denel’s property to the value of R12 million, after the company failed to meet various contractual and statutory obligations towards its employees.
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Solidarity’s chief executive Dirk Hermann said Wednesday’s court order was a huge victory for the union’s members, some of whom had not received their full pay since May 2020.
“We are incredibly grateful for the relief this order brings to our members. Our members had to do their work almost continuously without full pay and this amid the major uncertainty and challenges the Covid-19 pandemic brought,” Hermann said in a statement.
“Although we are, of course, delighted with the outcome, it is still a crying shame that we have to approach the courts on an ongoing basis to force state entities to fulfil their duties towards employees.”
According to Solidarity, if Denel does not make the required payments within 10 days, it will instruct the sheriff to seize the parastatal’s assets.
“We cannot allow workers’ money to be used to fund mismanagement and looting,” Hermann said.
He said Solidarity would continue to fight to make sure that those who are responsible for the mismanagement of Denel are brought to book.
“We cannot allow that our members and ordinary taxpayers have to carry the can for the state’s mismanagement anymore while the plunderers can simply carry on plundering with impunity. We have to take matters further.
“We will now carry on with litigation and will file criminal charges to ensure that those who caused this mess are held accountable for it.”
Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe
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