DRIVERS REACH OWN DEAL

Cash-in-transit workers withdraw from strike after agreement made without union

CASH-in-transit (CIT) workers have reached a strike-ending agreement outside the Road Freight Employers’ Association (RFEA) bargaining council, their union negotiator said yesterday.

“The Marikana issue has set a precedent whereby employees negotiate with the company,” Motor Transport Workers’ Union (MTWU) national negotiator Solomon Mothibedi said.

Mothibedi said the MTWU negotiators and the RFEA had nothing to do with the agreement for the 4 870 CIT workers on strike, most of whom belonged to the MTWU.

“It was made outside the bargaining forum, directly between companies and shop stewards trusted by their employees,” Mothibedi said.

The agreement was reached with Coin and with G4S, he said.

The shop stewards informed MTWU leadership that they were committed to the union, but felt things were “going nowhere” after an RFEA offer was rejected in the bargaining council. The RFEA had offered 8.5 percent next March, then another 0.5 percent in March 2014. Workers demanded 12 percent.

“They told us, respectfully, let us enter a debate. Can we achieve this?” continued Mothibedi. “We said as we are part of negotiating, we can’t be party to your agreement because it undermines collective bargaining, exactly like Marikana… We did recuse ourselves professionally. We said ‘talk to your employer, we are not part of that agreement’.”

In terms of the agreement, CIT workers will receive an increase of 9 percent from March 1, then the same again on March 1, 2014. – Sapa