Union mulls over offer

STAFF AT TRANSNET UNHAPPY

The United National Transport Union (Untu) is considering a final wage offer by parastatal Transnet, but has not excluded industrial action, should its members reject the offer. Transnet shocked labour on Friday by firstly putting a very low opening offer on the negotiation table at the bargaining council and then replacing it with a final wage offer after labour declined to accept, Untu general secretary Steve Harris said in a statement.

Both Transnet offers were based on the fact that rating agency S&P Global downgraded Transnet on November 28 to full junk status – days after it downgraded South Africa’s credit rating in totality to the same.

“The company alleges this had changed its financial position drastically a month after Transnet’s chief executive, Siyabonga Gama, announced on October 30 that Transnet’s profits have soared to R37.1 billion, thanks to the fact that the company gained market share in general freight cargo and coal volumes. Transnet’s revenue rose by 13.8%,” Harris said.

Gama also assured Untu in front of a full house at the Transnet indaba on October 23, in Johannesburg, that voluntary severance packages would not be on the table as the company intended to create 20 000 new skilled job opportunities by 2022.

“But now his management team is saying the downgrading has a significant impact on Transnet’s balance sheet and Transnet management’s biggest concern now is to manage costs and to protect the company against growing fixed costs.

“According to the company, labour’s demand of a 12% salary increases every year for the next three years will result in a R8.8 billion increase to its wage bill, which will have a significant impact. For Transnet, double digit salary increases are therefore highly unaffordable.

“Transnet also changed its mind about the no retrenchment for the next three years, saying the current economic climate is too uncertain and there might be an operational need for retrenchments in future,” Harris said.

Transnet started its wage offer by saying that labour’s demand of 12% was very high, taking into consideration the current consumer price index (CPI) was 4.8%.

It offered Untu a multi-term wage agreement with a 5% salary increase for 2018, 5.5% in 2019, and 6% for 2020.

Transnet is not prepared to add an additional 2% increase for employees earning less than R100 000 a year. It believed its entry level wages “are very favourable in the market and above the minimum wage”, he said.

Untu now has until January 15 to present this offer to its members for a mandate to accept or decline the offer. – ANA