News24 reports that the SA Revenue Service (SARS) has deployed senior staff that fall outside of collective bargaining processes to work at the Beitbridge border post to avert a potential disaster posed by industrial action on the part of the revenue collector's employees.

On Tuesday last week, SARS announced that its operations had been affected by a workers' strike that has since resulted in the closure of 18 offices within SA. According to transporters in Beitbridge, since last week they have been experiencing delays in clearing their cargo because agents on the SA side were on a go-slow. Cargo moving on both sides of the border has been greatly affected by slow clearance due to a manpower shortage. As such, on Saturday SARS issued a notice advising transporters that it had put up a skeletal structure to reduce the negative impacts felt by travellers: "We would like to assure traders and travellers that we have put various contingency measures in place at land border posts to ensure minimal disruption during the current industrial action at SARS." SARS said despite the manpower shortage, it would continue with its regular duties such as physical inspection of cargo. However, the issuance of SADC certificates of origin for cargo exported from SA was a challenge and traders would have to use an alternative. SARS workers are demanding a salary increment of at least 7%, but the tax collector is only offering an upward adjustment of less than 2%.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lenin Ndebele at News24 (subscriber access only)

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