Bus drivers to mull new pay offer in last bid to avert strike

The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) said members in the passenger bus sector would consider a fresh pay offer by employer organisations in a bid to prevent a nationwide strike that could strand tens of thousands of commuters in the lead-up to the Easter holidays.

Labour and employer bodies, including the SA Bus Employers Association and the Commuters Bus Employers Association, are negotiating under the auspices of the SA Road Passenger Bargaining Council. Its members include Putco, Bojanala Bus, Algoa Bus Company and Great North Transport.

Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said it and other unions met employers as part of conciliation at the bargaining council on Monday.

“The employers have tabled an [new] offer and it addresses some of our core demands. Numsa will be meeting with shop-stewards in the bus passenger sector this weekend [which will] culminate into a national shop steward council meeting on Monday [March 11] to consider the proposal and obtain a fresh mandate,” Jim added, without giving details of the offer. “The extended conciliation meeting has been scheduled for next week Tuesday so that we can respond to the employer on the proposal.”

Numsa’s other demands include a “full compulsory healthcare” for all workers, with employers contributing 50% of the cost, and an increase in the “double driver allowance” from R450 to R700. The lowest-paid employee in the bus passenger sector earns about R7,800 a month.

“The possibility of a national shutdown in the bus passenger sector remains a reality and this is why we urge employers to put a meaningful proposal on the table so that we are not forced to embark on a national strike,” Jim said.

Bargaining council general secretary Gary Wilson wasn’t immediately available for comment.

In 2022, parties signed a 6% wage agreement on the eve of the Easter holidays as Numsa members were preparing to stop work. The deal, which saw the industry’s minimum wage rise to R42.85 an hour from R40.43, expired in March 2023, and a one-year, 7% pay agreement after lengthy negotiations in April 2023. That agreement ends on March 31.

Numsa, which represents more than 400,000 workers, participated in the first round of wage talks on February 5-9. It initially demanded a one-year, 15% increase which it revised to 10% before settling at 8%. Employers were offering 4%.

AGREEMENT EXPIRES ON MARCH 31, WHICH COULD LEAVE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF COMMUTERS STRANDED OVER EASTER