SOUTH African Airways (SAA) and four unions are expected to continue talks on Friday after the Labour Court in Johannesburg suggested that a negotiated settlement, instead of an interdict, should determine whether retrenchment processes at the national airline should be halted. Unions on Thursday took the carrier to court in a bid to compel it to halt a process of voluntary severance packages until the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) adjudicates an information-sharing dispute. Unions — including the Aviation Union of SA, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA, Solidarity and the National Transport Movement — went to the Labour Court seeking an interdict against about 700 job losses and said they had not received financial information justifying the process. Solidarity negotiator Derek Mans said a negotiated settlement was always superior to a court outcome, and the parties were expected to continue talks on Friday.

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