Cape Town - Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said Denel was in discussion with the attorneys of employees, who won a court case in May against the state-owned entity, to reconcile the records and agree on the amount owed for outstanding salaries.
EFF MP Omphile Maotwe wrote to Gordhan asking whether the 42 employees who won the case in May against Denel have been paid their outstanding salaries amounting to R13.2 million - this dates back to 2020.
Gordhan said out of the 42 current and former employees who won the case in May, three of them had already been paid by the time the court order was issued and they had failed to inform their attorneys.
“The amount owed to the remaining 39 claimants differ from person to person due to some having received part-payment from the date of the court order to date, and to that end, Denel has been in discussions with the attorneys representing the claimants with a view to reconcile the records and agree on the legitimate amounts owed to each individual,” he said.
Gordhan also said part of their discussions with the attorneys included agreeing on a date by which the amounts could be paid in view of Denel’s ongoing liquidity challenges.
The North Gauteng High Court ordered Denel to pay Numsa members who had not been paid their full salaries from May 2020.
Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said at the time each division was paid a percentage of their salaries and that it depended on how much revenue the division made.
Jim said this happened as Denel executives received their salaries in full every month.
“As Numsa we have tried to get answers on this but the human resources refuse to disclose whether the executive management are receiving their salaries. They have not published the amounts that executives are getting since January 2021.”
He also said Denel has not made regular payments to medical aid, UIF, retirement funds or any statutory contributions.
Numsa sent a letter of demand to Denel but the company allegedly did not respond, prompting the union to approach the court and the court heard the matter on an urgent basis.
“The judge agreed with us and granted the order. Denel will now have to pay all outstanding money and benefits,” Jim said at the time.
Cape Times