TimesLive reports that tensions continue to rise within the trucking fraternity as protests saw dozens of truck drivers pulled over by members of the All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied SA (ATDF ASA) on Monday.
ATDF ASA is at loggerheads with the national bargaining council for the road freight and logistics industry over wage negotiations and the ongoing feud about foreigners employed by industry giants. A group of about 30 ATDF ASA members pulled over dozens of truck drivers in Richards Bay in northern KwaZulu-Natal as police and soldiers monitored the situation. Drivers were ordered to pull over or turn around at an informal truck stop along the John Ross Highway when attempting to enter the harbour. Five suspects who were intimidating truck drivers were arrested. In Johannesburg, trucks blocked the M2 and M1 south as well as the N3/N12 (Geldenhuys Interchange). The protests coincided with a peaceful march by ATDF ASA members to the national bargaining council offices in Pietermaritzburg where they had intended to hand over a memorandum of demands. However, the offices were closed when they arrived there. A stalemate resulted, with ATDF ASA members vowing to camp at the premises until someone received their memorandum. The protestors gave the council seven days to accede to the demands, which included that all foreign truck drivers be removed immediately and SA-registered trucks be driven by SA citizens. A 20% salary increase was among the demands. Another demand was the removal of cameras inside trucks.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Orrin Singh at TimesLive
- Read too, Truck drivers threaten to shut down SA’s roads, at The Citizen
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page