Denel employees will not be paid in May, according to a letter from Denel CEO Mxolisi Makhatini.
Employees received a similar letter at the end of April and in a meeting last week it was said staff would not be paid for the next four months.
Makhatini writes:
“As stated in the previous communications, the company’s financial and liquidity position continue to be under extreme pressure.
“At this stage, we will not be in a position to honour the payment of the May 2021 salaries by the 25th due to lack of cash. We will communicate the salary sliding scale and date of payment for the month of May 2021 payroll as soon as our cash position has improved.
“All the statutory benefits such as medical aid, Denret pension contributions, SARS, garnishees, home loans, dispute levies and union subscriptions are at risk of not being paid. These payments are highly dependent on forecasted cash receipts expected towards the latter part of the month. We will attempt to prioritise the payment of medical aid contributions and the pension risk benefit.
“We urge all employees to support DLS in achieving our sales target, which may lead an improved cash and financial position. The situation is truly regrettable and we therefore implore you for your understanding and ask that we work together and ensure the survival of this great business.
“We thank you for your patience and apologise for the inconvenience and hardship that you continue to endure.”
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Last month employees received the letter on a Thursday and the next day on Friday, the human resources office was closed, because the staff “worked from home”. An employee, who chooses to remain anonymous, says the human resources head now wants to do job evaluations.
There is no employee wellness programme to assist employees during this time. The employee says the day after employees received their letters in April, they saw grown men crying because they did not know what to do.
“How can they ask us to be patient? Our banks where we have to pay our home loans are not patient. If there is no food on the table we cannot tell our children to be patient,” the employee says.
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