Reuters reports that Transnet on Friday announced a deadlock in its wage negotiations with two trade unions, raising the prospect of a strike that could further cripple the state-owned logistics company and impact the economy.

In a statement, Transnet said a wage dispute had been formally declared with the United National Transport Union (UNTU) and the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) after negotiations which commenced in May. Transnet indicated that the unions had rejected its offer of a 1.5% increase on employees' pay, excluding medical and housing allowances. "Their position remains unchanged from the previous rounds of wage negotiations, with a demand for a 12% increase on annual guaranteed pay, as well as other demands which add up to a total increase in labour costs of 21%," Transnet advised. UNTU’s Cobus van Vuuren said they had rejected Transnet's offer as it was way below the inflation rate, recorded at 7.8% year-on-year in July. He explained that the formal declaration of a dispute allowed a 30-day "cooling off period" for further negotiations with Transnet. Satawu described Transnet's offer as an "insult", but said it remained open to further negotiations.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News

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