The Citizen reports that as Gautrain celebrated its fifteenth anniversary on Tuesday, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) indicated that it would be balloting its members to determine whether it would be going ahead with a strike at the rapid rail network.

This after wage increase negotiations with the Bombela Operating Company, which manages the Gautrain, reached a deadlock. Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said in a statement that the union hasd been granted a certificate to strike, which meant it could give Gautrain 48 hour notice to down tools. “Our members rejected the employer’s offer of a 4.2% wage increase [for] Gautrain workers because this is not a meaningful increase. We are demanding a 7% increase across the board. While management clings to the Consumer Price Index as a benchmark, workers are living in a country where the cost of survival has skyrocketed far beyond the consumer price index (CPI),” Hlubi-Majola said. She argued that Numsa’s demand for a 7% increase was a modest, reasonable adjustment that reflected the real cost of living in SA.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lesego Seokwang at The Citizen
• Lees ook, Gautrein-werkers verwerp loonaanbod, by Maroela Media

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