Metal workers union Numsa in the Western Cape has denied that its members were behind Tuesday night's petrol bomb attack on an Intercape Bus which left two people dead and more than 30 injured.
The union's Western Cape spokesperson, Vuyo Lufele, says the incident was an act of criminality and not linked to the ongoing strike at Intercape.
He says Numsa is not a violent union and would not resort to acts of violence to raise their grievances.
Last month Lufule issued a statement on behalf of NUMSA showing their support for the strike by Intercape bus drivers.
Here is the full statement from NUMSA, issued on 4 August 2015
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) in the Western Cape (WC) fully backs Intercape bus drivers’ strike that started earlier this morning, Tuesday 04 August 2015, which is causing major delays for commuters travelling from Western Cape to far-flung areas across the country.
Intercape’s drivers belonging to Numsa decided to embark on a strike action in solidarity with the dismissed Hostesses by the greedy Intercape management. The strike by drivers is a genuine and a living expression of workers battle cry “an injury to one; an injury to all”.
Currently drivers are seized with a heavy burden and expected to carry-out duties that were performed by Hostesses, whilst at the same time are expected to discharge their usual duties of driving long-hours transporting commuters to their respective destinations in major towns and cities of our country.
These added and unpaid responsibilities are not in the best interest of commuters, since their pose a safety risk on our public roads. Already South Africa has a horrific and highest number of road fatalities compared to other developing countries in the world.
Numsa demands the immediate re-instatement of all the dismissed Hostesses, including Intercape resolving all the grievances raised by drivers. Any failure by Intercape to heed our call we will call for a mass public boycott of Intercape buses.
The grievances include:
Drivers must buy their own padlocks for trailers;
Drivers must fix buses when broken down; failure by the driver to fix the bus, all costs paid to the mechanic will be deducted from a drivers salary; AND
All drivers must be hired by Intercape, not through a Labour Broker – Munashe;
The union had explored all avenues to avert the strike, unfortunately due to big-headedness and sheer arrogance by Intercape’s management a deal or settlement could not be brokered to end the impasse.
The union has opted to embark on a strike action, based on a democratic and worker-controlled mandate from below, as a tactical and organisational strategy to force Intercape to concede to the demands of workers.
We are currently satisfied with the manner in which the strike is unfolding, and we call other workers not on strike, to unite and join the strike since these demands are going to benefit all workers, irrespective of one’s union logo’s or t-shirts colours.
We call on Intercape commuters and the general public at large to pledge their support to the demands of workers. These bus drivers, including Hostesses are bread-winners and responsible for taking care of the large army of the unemployed that is ravaged by poverty and squalor in our Townships, informal settlements and rural slums.
Meanwhile, Western Cape Community Safety Minister, Dan Plato, says the perpetrators should face the full might of the law.
"Such acts undermine the provision of reliable public transport and threaten the safety of commuters. We send our condolences to the family and friends of those who lost their lives in the attack, and we wish the injured a speedy recovery. We trust that the police will continue to conduct a thorough investigation into what happened. We urge eyewitnesses and anyone else who may be able to assist the police to come forward" he said
The names of the victims have not yet been released.
