Workers at Tongaat Hulett, which is in business rescue, will receive their December salaries and 13th cheques following a business rescue consultation last week, according to trade union Uasa.

Abigail Moyo, the spokesperson for the trade union Uasa, said in a statement yesterday, “While it is pleasing that the company managed to secure money for salaries and 13th cheques, its financial state remains of concern.”

According to reports last month, Tongaat Hulett needs R1.5 billion to service roughly R6.3bn in debt and to continue its sugar milling season.

Recently, the company announced measures to boost its sugar and animal feed production, which included: crushing all available cane by returning raw mills to optimal performance; continuing to invest in Tongaat Hulett’s white sugar premium brand; increasing raw and refined sugar produced by focusing on mill reliability and recoveries, and strengthening technical resources throughout its factory operations.

It would also prioritise resources for planning and execution of annual off-crop maintenance; address critical repairs; focus on ongoing refinery yield improvements; accelerate in-house training programmes focusing on operating skills as well as focus on cost leadership and margin optimisation throughout the value chain.

Last week a grower-led consortium of all Tongaat Hulett-supplying growers announced that they had submitted to the business rescue practitioners an Expression of Interest in acquiring the ailing Tongaat Hulett.

In a statement, the consortium said it planned to buy Tongaat’s South African mills, refinery, animal feeds, and brands of the milling company.

On the growers’ proposal, the Tongaat Hulett business rescue team said: “The business rescue plan will be presented at the end of January, 2023 when we will update the market in detail on the business rescue process.”

Meanwhile, a meeting of shareholders in respect of the remuneration of the business rescue practitioners of the company is to be convened virtually on Friday.