Bus commuters in a fix as drivers strike
Sector workers seek 12% raise across board
Thousands of bus commuters could today be forced to seek alternative public transport modes after bus drivers decided to go on strike.
Zanele Sabela, the spokeswoman for SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union told Sowetan yesterday that the strike was taking place due to the employers failing to revise their wage offer of 7.5%.
The workers are demanding a 12% across the board wage increase.
“We have decided that we are going on strike because [the employers] have not come back to us,” Sabela said.
“We left the door open that if they come back to us between now and midnight, we are willing to talk. However, we have not heard anything from them.”
Her comment comes after talks - in the SA Road Passenger Bargaining Council – between the employers and four other unions including Satawu and Transport Omnibus Workers’ Union – reached a deadlock last month. Meanwhile, negotiations between troubled Passenger Rail Services of South Africa (Prasa) and its biggest union went off the rails following the parastatal’s refusal to meet the workers wage demands.
United National Transport Union spokesman Steve Harris said the union, which represents 47% of Prasa’s 15 000 labourers, said Prasa was offering a 6% across the board wage increase, while the union was demanding 10%.
Harris said Prasa had been given two weeks to get a new mandate following the reshuffling of former transport minister Dipuo Peters and appointment of a new company board.
“A commissioner at the CCMA issued a certificate of non-resolution [yesterday], after Prasa management came back to the conciliation without a new mandate,” he said.
“Prasa’s final offer is an insult to its employees.”
There has been no movement from Prasa management since the start of the salary negotiations in February, when the employer put a 3% salary increase on the table.
The union is also demanding increase of R700 in medical allowance increase, standby allowance, night allowance and danger allowance.