The Citizen reports that a strike in the cash-in-transit (CIT) sector could see SA’s automated teller machines running dry.

That’s the prospect if the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) grants the Motor Transport Workers Union (MTWU) a picketing certificate to embark on a protected strike. At the core of the planned industrial action is a call by the MTWU for the employers’ association in the freight sector to accede to a demand to add a third employee to CIT teams transporting money. MTWU national organiser Musa Tshabalala said the safety of employees transporting money was “paramount” and added: “The workers’ lives have long been endangered by the fact that in any CIT van, there are only two people, making them an easy target for criminals. We demand a third person be employed as a backup, due to our members being killed daily.” He said strike action was a “last resort”. The union, an affiliate of the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa), said it intended serving a 48-hour notice on the CIT-affiliated companies’ employers association of MTWU’s intention to embark on the protected strike. The Road Freight Association (RFA), representing employers, conceded that the safety of CIT employees was important. “Safety of employees is paramount and not negotiable. We agree on the addition of a third man,” said RFA labour relations officer Dave Behrens.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Brian Sokutu at The Citizen

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