Satawu mulls new offer by bus sector before Easter

The SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), which had threatened to go on strike in the bus sector ahead of the busy Easter weekend, has received a revised offer from bus operators.

Satawu’s spokesperson Amanda Tshemese said that the union, a Cosatu affiliate representing about 4,600 workers in the sector, is embarking on a mandate-seeking process on the new offer.

She would not say what the new figure is. The union is demanding a 9% wage increase and rejected the employers’ previous offer of 6%.

SA Road Passenger Bargaining Council general secretary Gary Wilson did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Last week, the union threatened to go on strike after it reached a deadlock with employer bodies represented by the SA Road Passenger Bargaining Council in February.

The union, which was granted a strike certificate in February, is demanding a twoyear wage deal, with an increase of 9% in 2023/24 and an 8% hike in the final year. Consumer inflation eased to an annual rate of 6.9% in January from 7.2% in December 2022.

The union has rejected a 6% offer by employer organisations including the SA Bus Employers Association and the Commuter Bus Employers Association.

Besides the effect on bus operators, a strike could leave millions of passengers in the lurch over the Easter long weekend, including travellers to neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Eswatini.

The bus sector is among those that were hardest hit by the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, which included the closure of borders and rules limiting passenger numbers.

The restrictions resulted in luxury coach operator Greyhound and its semi-luxury operator Citiliner halting operations in February 2021, which led to hundreds of job losses. The bus lines resumed operations in April 2022 after the company’s relaunch.

In 2022, a strike in the sector was averted when parties agreed on a 6% pay increase that expired on March 31. The unions had initially sought 11%.

In 2021, workers in the sector settled for a 4% increase after demanding between 7.5% and 8.5%, and in 2020 the sector implemented a 6% hike.

THE UNION IS DEMANDING A TWO-YEAR WAGE DEAL, WITH AN INCREASE OF 9% IN 2023/24