Fin24 reports that as Transnet and trade unions seal a wage deal, industry is counting the enormous cost of a strike that could mean months of recovery.
According to the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF), the 11-day strike, which kicked off on 6 October, caused SA to lose the opportunity to move R65.3 billion worth of goods. "Some of those will possibly move later, but the rest are gone and gone forever," said SAAFF CEO Juanita Maree. SAAFF, which represents more than 300 clearing and forwarding agents – accounting for more than 80% of the trade goods in and out of SA – said its members had incurred logistics costs of nearly R7 billion over the 11 days of industrial action at Transnet ports. "In the aftermath, beyond the strike, barring any further destruction, a complete restoration of normal functionality will only happen in early 2023, as the consequences of one day's worth of stoppage have been shown to result in anything up to 10 days needed for recovery," Maree said. Transnet's majority union, the United National Transport Union (UNTU), on Monday announced a three-year deal with the company for increases of as much as 6%. The SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) meanwhile appealed for its members to return to work on Thursday, noting it would address its issues with the wage deal internally. The wage increase cost of an estimated R1.5 billion paled in comparison to the economic cost, SAAFF said. The Minerals Council SA, which previously estimated the strike could cause a daily loss of R815 million, said this figure had fallen to an estimated R200 million currently. This was because the facilities like the Richards Bay Coal Terminal and the Port of Saldanha had tapped into stockpiles to load ships.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at Fin24
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