JOHANNESBURG, April (ANA) - South African transport minister Blade Nzimande on Wednesday appealed to all parties involved in the negotiations aimed at ending the bus strike to urgently and cordially find a negotiated settlement.
Many commuters were left stranded and had to seek alternative transport as South African bus operations came to a halt on Wednesday morning across the country after drivers went on strike over a wage dispute with employers.
Drivers in the bus sector affiliated to the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) on Wednesday downed tools at 6 am and embarked on a national strike after wage negotiations with employer bodies, Commuter Bus Employers Organisation and South African Bus Employers Association (Sabea), reached a deadlock.
The drivers are demanding a 12 percent wage increase while the employers are offering seven percent.
In a statement, Nzimande said that parties involved must find a solution inspired by a common desire to make the bus industry a reliable, attractive and safe public transport mode.
"The only reasonable outcome that government expects from the negotiations is the immediate resumption of bus operations, whilst labour and employers are finding a permanent solution to the impasse," he said.
Nzimande said that he was observing, with keen interest, the negotiations aimed at ending this bus strike.
- African News Agency (ANA)
