Johannesburg – Desperate SA Express employees have made a daring attempt to save hundreds of their jobs with an ambitious bid to but the state-owned airline and prevent it from liquidation.
SA Express workers yesterday said they had incorporated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to bid for the airline’s assets, subject to prevailing terms and conditions. They said the SPV would be anchored by a private investor and owned by a public limited company, Fly SAX, with SA Express’s 691 employees as the owners.
According to Fly SAX spokesperson Thabisile Sikakane, the government had failed SA Express employees as they have been without jobs and have not been paid since February.
“It is our right to have a decent job with decent pay that would lift us back into the workforce,” said Sikakane.
“Our government has not only subjected workers to poverty, but has also killed their morale.”
The airline’s flights have been grounded since March 18, after the company was placed in business rescue in February.
Last week, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria granted an extension for its final liquidation to October 28 after the airline’s business rescuers failed to raise funds to save the regional airline.
The employees have been on a crowdfunding platform Uprise.Africa since August to raise the capital which is estimated to be R1.5-billion.
