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The Citizen reports that according to the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), a nationwide strike in the bus sector ahead of the Easter holiday is looming as employers are refusing to meet workers’ demands.
Passengers at bus companies such as Putco, Golden Arrows, Autopax, Greyhound, Mega Bus and Coach, Gauteng Coaches, Great North Transport and many others could be left stranded ahead of Good Friday. Wage talks between employers and five unions collapsed at the SA Road Passenger Bargaining Council (SARPBC) in February. Numsa is the biggest union among the five that include Satawu. Numsa’s spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola on Monday accused the SA Bus Employers Association (SABEA) and the Commuter Bus Employer Association (COBEA) of refusing to “negotiate in good faith” by disclosing their income from government subsidies. She said: “There are exactly ten days left before the cooling off period ends on the 13th of April, which is two days before Good Friday weekend. In terms of the law, we will have the right to give a 48 hours-notice for a national strike. It is likely that the strike will begin just before the Easter long weekend.” Numsa has made a wide range of demands, including that workers earning R7,800 per month be moved up to R12,000. However, employers said the demands were unaffordable and offered only a 2.5% increment for those employed before March 2022. A new wage demand of 10% across the board was now on the table, said Hlubi-Majola, who clarified that that was approximately a R780 increase for the lowest paid.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Getrude Makhafola at The Citizen
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