Unions in South Africa's bus sector said on Friday they would soon embark on mass action across the country, accusing employers of refusing to engage meaningfully in wage talks to end a strike now in its third week.
Workers affiliated to the SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), the Transport and Omnibus Workers Union, the Transport and Allied Workers Union of South Africa and the Tirisano Transport and Services Workers Union started a work boycott last month, demanding an initial 12 percent salary increase across the board, while employers offered seven percent.
In a statement sent out on May 4, Numsa said the unions, which are affiliated to the South African Federation of Trade Unions, had decided to intensify the strike "because employers in the bus sector have declared war on commuters".
"They did not attend the mediation with the goal of resolving the strike. They wasted our time," it said.
"Their refusal to engage meaningfully in wage talks demonstrates that they are dishonest and disingenuous and have displayed nothing but contempt for workers and the community at large."
Numsa said the unions would meet on Friday to finalise details of mass action and protests in various parts of the country.
Numsa said unions rejected the current offer on the table of an eight percent wage increase for the first year and 8.5 percent for the second year.
Among other grievances, unions are angry that alternate drivers on long bus trips are only paid for the time they are actually behind the wheel and have accused bus companies of subverting the law by refusing to pay night shift allowances.
"We cannot compromise on these core demands because they are a flagrant abuse of workers’ rights," Numsa said.
- African News Agency (ANA)
