Commuters scramble for transport as strike looms
SOUTH African commuters are scrambling to find alternative transport ahead of a planned nationwide bus drivers strike over pay that is scheduled to start tomorrow.
The impact of the strike could be widely felt in different provinces and across operators such as Greyhound and MyCiTi, with up to 71 000 commuters who rely on the MyCiTi bus service daily being affected in Cape Town.
City mayoral committee member for transport and urban development‚ councillor Brett Herron‚ said yesterday that the strike would have a serious knock-on effect on all public transport and road traffic. Wage negotiations have deadlocked. Acting National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) spokesman Phakamile Hlubi said members had been forced to down tools in support of a living wage and improved working conditions.
The union accused employers of being willing to plunge the industry into a crisis‚ just days before the Easter long weekend. It wants an end to dangerously long working hours‚ overtime pay for public holidays and Sundays and a 15% salary increase.
Bus operators plan to institute a lock-out from midnight tomorrow.
“The lock-out is necessary to ensure the safety of passengers and personnel‚” Herron said.
Cape Town authorities have urged companies to allow staff to work from home or flexible hours.
Commuters were advised to consider car-pooling to ease congestion. – TMG Digital