OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday
THREE trade unions are to hand Spoornet notice of their intention to strike in 48 hours unless the rail parastatal moves to end the wage negotiation deadlock, Sake Beeld reports.
The three trade unions, Salstaff, the SA Transport & Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) and the United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utata), had a final meeting with Spoornet management representatives on Thursday, said the newspaper.
The management representatives at the meeting indicated they had no mandate to improve the offer made to the trade unions on May 2.
The offer makes provision for increases of 7.5%, but about half of these increases are financed by cutting back on other benefits, especially medical subsidies and a longer working week.
“At the last meeting, we got the impression from management that they thought we wanted to play games. They called the meeting on the basis of media reports in which we said we were prepared to negotiate again provided there was a change in their position. When we arrived at the meeting on Thursday afternoon, their attitude was that we must change our position before there can be further negotiations,” the newspaper quoted Salstaff general secretary Andr Venter as saying.
At the meeting a message from Spoornet CE Zandile Jakavula was handed over in which he said some of Spoornet’s largest clients had already expressed their uneasiness over the impending strike. According to Jakavula, the clients also indicated they would have to find alternative services if Spoornet was disrupted by a strike.
The trade unions did not hold a strike ballot but held joint mass meetings with their members in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban last week. These and the support expressed by the trade unions’ provincial structures in favour of a strike made them decided to hand the ultimatum to Spoornet’s management on Monday.