Unions demand reliable transport

MORE than 5 000 people, led by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), are expected to march through the CBD today, calling for safer and reliable public transport.

Cosatu, joined by the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) and Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru), demand that the public transport sector provide an efficient service.

Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, Cosatu provincial secretary Malvern de Bruyn said the demonstration came after demands tabled last year were not responded to.

“We don’t understand how the City thinks it can manage to run trains while it is struggling to resolve the MyCiTi N2 express issue,” said Bruyn.

Sactwu spokesperson Sheila van Rensburg said commuters were frustrated.

“Employers have little sympathy for the workers’ plight to get to work. While excuses such as vandalism are used, our members receive disciplinary hearings, while some have lost their jobs. Leaving home at 4am to get to work at 8am is not a joke.”

The Central Line, which was Metrorail’s busiest route, and the MyCiTi N2 bus service are still suspended.

Golden Arrow Bus Services spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer said their services operated about 600 daily trips between the City, and Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain.

“The suspension of the MyCiTi N2 Express Service has been felt less strongly, as Golden Arrow runs trips from Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain at a more cost effective price point,” said Dyke-Beyer.