The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) on Friday formally declared a dispute with the Bus Passengers Council after wage negotiations broke down.
This comes as transport unions and employers in the South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council (SARPBC) sat down for the second round of wage negotiations this week, with other talks set to resume in March.
Numsa is demanding a wage increase of 30 percent across the board, and is also demanding a living wage of R15,000 per month for all workers.
They also demand a R1,500 housing allowance, R1,200 sleeping out allowance, and also want to be paid 1.5 time their normal rate when working overtime and double if forced to work on their day off.
However, employers in the bus passenger sector, including companies such as Autopax, Buscor, PUTCO, Greyhound, Intercape, Golden Arrow, and Mgqibelo, are only putting an offer of 4.5 percent wage increase across the board.
Irvin Jim, the general secretary of Numsa which has extended its scope to include transport, said the the response from employers was alarming given that “several bus transportation companies are guilty of abusing the basic conditions of employment”.
Jim said bus companies expected drivers to work 18-hour days but only paid them for half of those working hours, and not compensated for overtime and working on public holidays.
“Employers claim that the current economic climate means they can’t afford to increase salaries, and yet, even at the time when the industry was doing well, those savings and profits were never passed onto our workers,” Jim said in a statement.
The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) would be facilitating mediation on March 6, after which a strike certificate may be issued.
Jim said a full blown industry strike was now imminent because “employers care more about profits than people”.
“We call on workers in the industry to unite and fight for better pay and an improved quality of life, particularly in this critical time when the government and its partners in business are united in a war against workers,” Jim said.
“Why must we continue to accept back breaking work, time away from our families, and low pay in exchange for a poor standard of
living? When will workers in South Africa reap the full benefits of democracy?”
– African News Agency (ANA)
