Strike at Putco ends after unions accept 6% wage increase offer

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handshake thumb medium90 90News24 reports that striking Putco (Public Utility Transport Corporation) employees have accepted a 6% wage offer after a series of meetings between the bus company and trade unions.

Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu said the CCMA facilitated the three-day meetings, which were held after employees at the Dobsonville and Roseville depots embarked on a strike over salary increases and outstanding 2020 bonus payments. Putco had applied for an exemption from the SA Road Passenger Bargaining Council on the basis that it could not afford the payouts due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, Xulu advised that Putco had withdrawn that application. He indicated: "The company will implement a 6% wage increase on 1 October 2022 for all employees who were in service of Putco on 1 April 2020 and are still in service after this agreement. The wage increase will not be backdated." The annual bonus of 2020 will be paid by Putco to all eligible employees, spread equally over a period of 18 months, starting at the end of October 2022. A one-off payment of R5,000 per employee inside the bargaining unit will be paid in two instalments at the end of November 2022 and the end of February 2023 in lieu of back pay for all employees who were in the service of the company on 1 April 2020. Xulu added that the dismissal of 105 drivers and technical employees effected by Putco last week still stood. However, they could, through their unions, appeal their dismissals by no later than Friday. The group, part of some 1,000 employees who participated in an illegal strike, were fired for misconduct, intimidation, and blockading entry and exit points at Putco depots, thereby preventing employees from entering and leaving the premises.


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