Truck owners pledge to ‘prioritise’ jobs for locals
The KwaZulu-Natal government has secured commitments from freight owners with the aim of quelling attacks on trucks.
According to KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala, the government has reached agreements with various stakeholders in the freight industry to prioritise locals for employment. Truck owners have committed to provide at least 400 new jobs for South Africans.
Zikalala said they would soon mount an intensive operation, together with the national government, along the N2, N3 and N11 routes in KwaZulu-Natal in which drivers who do not have proper permits will be targeted.
“The engagements follow recent disturbances on our major national highways, where trucks were torched and drivers attacked,” Zikalala said. “We reached important commitments which we believe will guarantee peace and stability in this all-important industry.
“In principle, we agreed that truck operators must, with immediate effect, prioritise the employment of South African drivers. Every foreign national who is currently driving a South African-registered truck must be licensed and have a valid permit issued by the department of home affairs.”
The province will engage the department of labour and employment to manage the database of prospective drivers, which will be submitted by the driver associations, including the All Truck Drivers Foundation and the National Drivers’ Federation.
“The department will also verify the drivers’ database, ensuring clear criminal records and valid qualifications,” Zikalala said. “We now have a firm commitment from the drivers that there will be no burning of trucks, blocking of any road or entry to the Port of Durban.”
He added that their longterm solution included effecting appropriate amendments to the law.
“Therefore, our proposals to national government include speeding up the review of the scarce skills policy to clarify the contentious question of the employment of foreign nationals in low-skill sectors,” Zikalala said.
“We have escalated the matter to national government as this is not only a KwaZulu-Natal matter, but it has implications for the entire [Southern African Development Community] region.
“Our provincial government is fully committed to the transformation and stabilisation of the road freight and logistics industry, which is a critical sector of the economy.
“We will work together with all stakeholders. The task team that has been assigned the responsibility of addressing challenges in the road freight sector will meet weekly to receive reports on operations,” said the premier.
“We will not allow lawlessness to threaten our economy.”
We will not allow lawlessness to threaten our economy