CAPE TOWN - Workers at Denel are up in arms at the refusal of Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown, to view in a serious light, the numerous allegations against the company's the Group Chief Financial Officer and Chairperson of the Board.
Trade Union Solidarity announced that its members are ready to launch a protest action.
The allegations consisting of financial mismanagement and misrepresentations were made against three Denel board members and explained by Trade Union Solidarity in an urgent letter to the Minister last week.
In a letter to Solidarity, workers at Denel suggested that discussions with the officials concerned be continued.
Solidarity says that the letters sent to the Minister, are of importance because they could affect possible retrenchments of up to 700 employees -due to mismanagement at the company.
According to Deon Reyneke, Deputy General Secretary of Solidarity, the union argued, in a follow-up letter forwarded to Minister Brown, that her proposal to continue discussions with the officials was irresponsible.
“The employees who divulged this information to Solidarity will be put in an extremely vulnerable position if the implicated officials are not suspended at least until an investigation has been carried out,” said Reyneke.
Reyneke said that Brown should refrain from making indifferent comments on the obvious management problems at the company. Treasury’s budget documents state that treasury would also have to become involved at Denel in order to address management problems.
“Solidarity, therefore, urged the minister to amend her vague solutions to the obvious problems at Denel and to use the authority of her office to address these problems,” Reyneke said.