Meeting Denel in court over assets and contempt

2 December 2020

Solidarity will be in court tomorrow to argue its case of contempt of court against Denel. Back in August Denel was given an order to pay all salary arrears and to meet the contractual and statutory obligations it has towards its employees. To date, Denel has failed to comply with the court order. Solidarity has also embarked on a process of obtaining warrants of execution.

Solidarity makes the point that it is inconceivable that ordinary employees should have to bear the brunt by not receiving any remuneration, and this due to a lack of strategic decisions and an unwillingness on the part of the shareholder to take responsibility for the business, while some of Denel’s management members still receive 100% payment of their salaries, notwithstanding the court order of 4 August.

“The arrogance of Denel’s management and the state is bewildering. They continue to mismanage the entity and are squandering those funds that are at their disposal. Denel’s top management are said to still receive full salaries. This while other workers have been receiving less than half of their salaries for months,” HelgardCronjé, the sector coordinator for aviation and defence at Solidarity said.

According to Denel, it lacks the necessary funds to be in a position to make the payments. Solidarity rejects this argument, contending that Denel spends the available funds selectively and disregards the court order deliberately.

“The processes Denel is currently following amount without exception to a total dereliction of duty: decision-making is slow and poor; implementation hardly ever takes place, and where decisions are made and people want to implement them, the necessary funds are not mobilised. We are now approaching the court to force Denel to start doing the right things with the necessary funds as soon as possible. Otherwise, the future of our members is threatened,” Cronjé explained.

Solidarity today took part in protest action with its members at Denel’s corporate office in Irene to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the arms manufacturer.

“Denel is dragging its heels. The company, together with the state, is making no real effort to mitigate the situation it finds itself in, and now employees who carry no blame for this state of affairs have to bear the brunt of the state’s corruption and mismanagement. Solidarity will not back off. We will do everything in our power to recover our members’ outstanding salaries, even if Denel’s assets have to be seized,” Cronjé concluded.

Issued by Helgard Cronjé, Sector Coordinator, Aviation and Defence, 2 December 2020