Seven trucks have been torched on the N3 in Mooi River in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) spokesperson, Zinhle Mngomezulu, said traffic was backed up in both directions and clean-up operations were still underway.
Five trucks were torched on the Johannesburg-bound carriageway, and two on the Durban bound.
A KwaZulu-Natal provincial police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane, said the protest action started just after midnight.
He says the truck drivers were ordered to get out of their vehicles by a group of people who then set alight the trucks and left.
He said no arrests had been made and a case of public violence had been opened at the Mooi River Police Station.
Earlier this week the Minister of Transport Blade Nzimande issued a stern warning to protesters and urged law enforcement agencies to ensure that those who break the law or disrupt traffic are apprehended and trucks impounded.
Nzimande says whilst they have done all to assist towards the resolution of this dispute, the matter must be dealt with not as a transport issue but as a labour dispute.
The Department of Labour was tasked to conduct unannounced inspections to unscrupulous employers disregarding employment laws and the law enforcement officers were tasked to identify routes with high volumes of cross border truck movement and conduct multi-disciplinary roadblock operations.
The Mooi River N3 toll plaza is one of the busiest in the country, linking KwaZulu-Natal’s two major seaports with most of the hinterland, such as the country’s economic hub of Gauteng and SADC countries.
The torching of trucks and stoning of vehicles occurs frequently in the area, with similar protests taking place on Sunday.
In May last year, 32 trucks were torched and others looted in one night.
- African News Agency (ANA);
