Unpaid workers push for Saab to be made bankrupt

Saab faced a fresh threat to its survival yesterday after a union said it would next week push for the ailing car maker to be made bankrupt.

The firm’s workers are still waiting to get their pay for August and unions have the right to seek bankruptcy if they want to activate a state scheme to pay the salaries instead.

The company said it would make a fresh application for court protection from creditors on Monday, as it tries to fend off what many commentators see as the inevitable collapse of the 60-year-old group, but a lawyer said he thought the plea for the process, called a reconstruction, would be rejected again.

Production at Saab, rescued from closure just last year, has been halted for months as bills to suppliers remain unpaid.

Martin Wastfelt, legal officer for the white collar union Unionen, said it would move next week: “We must act within a couple of working days.”