Beyond the Bailout: Cosatu’s Stark Warning After Denel’s Latest Salary Scare

This past week, workers at Denel Dynamics and Denel PMP received a chilling message: there might be no money to pay their January salaries. While a crisis was averted after urgent intervention by Cosatu and unions, the scare was a jarring reminder of the still-fragile state of the state-owned defence manufacturer, and a potent signal that its recovery is far from assured.

For Cosatu, this episode is a warning flare. It highlights the urgent, unresolved issues plaguing a company that was systematically vandalized during the “decade of state capture,” a period that saw industrial espionage, asset-stripping, and, most devastatingly, workers going 18 months without paya trauma that led to lost homes and, tragically, suicides.

A Turnaround Built on Trust, Not Just Cash

The federation acknowledges the “green shoots” reported in 2025 but argues that real recovery hinges on more than financial injections from the state. Transparency and accountability are non-negotiable. Management must take staff and the nation into its confidence regarding the implementation of Denel’s turnaround plan and show exactly how substantial government bailouts have been utilized.

“Workers deserve and demand better,” Cosatu states, pointing to the successful stabilisation of other SOEs like Eskom and Transnet as proof that recovery is possible with the right focus.

A Call for Government to Step Up

Crucially, Cosatu directs a portion of its warning at the government itself. The Ministry and Department of Defence, as Denel’s oversight authority, “cannot be absent or silent when alarm bells ring.” Merely accepting management’s assurances, the federation argues, is a failure of leadership. They must actively fulfill their oversight role to weed out lingering corruption and mismanagement.

Denel’s Potential: A National Asset at Stake

The message underscores what is at stake: Denel is not just any company. Its productsfrom the Rooivalk helicopter to advanced artillery systemsare globally respected for quality and affordability. It represents a reservoir of South African intellectual and technical ingenuity, capable of playing a leading role in industrial growth and job creation.

But this potential can only be unlocked with an honest relationship with its workforce. Denel’s turnaround, Cosatu insists, depends on honouring legal obligations to employees, investing in their skills, and tapping into their hard-won experience.

The last-minute salary payment prevented a disaster, but it didn’t solve the underlying problem. Cosatu’s warning is clear: without urgent, concerted action on governance, transparency, and a genuine partnership with its workers, Denel’s path back to glory will remain perilously uncertain. The nation, and its workers, cannot afford another scare.

{Source: IOL}

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