Press Statement dated 23 January 2019
Three female mothers of the United National Transport Union (UNTU) working for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) in Durban were harassed and threatened to be killed by furious commuters in three separate incidents this morning on the Umlazi and KwaMashu Corridor in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
A female train driver and single mother of three children feared for her life this morning when furious commuters hijacked her train at Duff Road Station.
Yoliswa Hadebe (36), the driver of Train 9724, stopped the train on the platform on Duff Road Station when furious commuters surrounded her cabin.
“I was supposed to get out of the cabin and return to the other side of the train so that I can return to Bridge City due to the shortages in rolling stock. The commuters threatened that they will assault me if I get out of the cabin. They had been waiting from 05:00 for a train to take them to Durban and was anxious to get to work,” Hadebe told Steve Harris, General Secretary UNTU.
Hadebe managed to contact her train control officer and her depot manager to grant her permission to continue to Durban.
They managed to clear the route and Hadebe was allowed to continue to Durban where she was relieved of her duty.
“I was so scared because they said they will kill me. At the same time, I can understand their frustration,” she said.
This is the second time in the two years since being a train driver, that she was hijacked. Last year commuters threatened that they will kill her if she did not continue with the train to Stanger.
She was not trained to travel on the Stanger route and her Depot Manager had to take the train from her and take the commuters to Stanger.
Another UNTU member, metro guard Samantha Moodley (34), a mother of two children, was harassed by commuters at Durban Station and at Duff Road Station.
“They surrounded me and shouted at me. There was no security to be seen. On the other side of the platform there were six officers of the South African Police Service (SAPS) just sitting there, doing nothing to help me.
“I got a panic attack. It was just too much for me to handle. I am so traumatised. This was not the first time, but it was the worst ever. The commuters are getting more aggressive,” she told Harris.
A third UNTU member, Chandi Zondi (37), a train driver and mother of two children, was harassed by commuters at the Durban Station. They were angry because the trains were late.
According to Zondi she was stuck in her cabin.
“They told me they are going to get me. They know where I live. I was so scared. Officials of the South African Police Service (SAPS) had to intervene,” she says.
Harris said he is shocked that neither Sibusiso Sithole, Acting Group Chief Executive Officer of Prasa, Khanyisile Kweyama, Chairperson of the Board of Prasa, nor the Minister of Transport, Dr. Blade Nzimande, has not yet attempted to arrange for a meeting to try and find solutions or to comfort their employees.
“They are quick to visit victims of collisions where the media can see. But when it comes to their own staff to whom they have a legal obligation to provide safe working conditions, they simply don’t care,” says Harris.
For more information phone Sonja Carstens, UNTU Media, Liaison and Communication Officer, on 082 463 6806 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Issued by Sonja Carstens, Media and Liaison Officer, United National Transport Union (UNTU)