Reports of chaos at train stations around South Africa were exaggerated, Metrorail said on Tuesday as a wage strike against the rail operator entered its second day.
Metrorail spokesperson Thandi Mlangeni said reports of chaos at stations in the Cape Peninsula and Soweto were an exaggeration.
”I think it is exaggeration,” she said.
”The service is disrupted. But our updates at 7am are showing a very positive picture …
”We have identified gaps and we are trying to close these with more buses. People need to understand that trains can carry between 500 and 1 000 people. Buses are a lot smaller, so there will be delays in terms of traffic.”
Mlangeni said Metrorail’s service was running more effectively than on Monday.
SABC radio journalists reported that many passengers had been waiting for more than an hour for transport in Soweto and that long queues of commuters had formed in the Cape Peninsula.
The broadcaster said trains that were running were overloaded, with passengers hanging out from coach doors and windows.
It said many commuters in the Western Cape and the East Rand had gone home because of a lack of transport.
The 1 500-member United Transport and Allied Trade Unions (Utatu) and the 2 500-member United Association of South Africa (Uasa) went on strike on Monday after their demands for a 6,5% across the board increase were rejected by Metrorail.
Metrorail said it had offered a ”generous 5,5% increase”.
The unions said they would continue striking until their demands were met.
Utatu general secretary Chris de Vos said on Monday that more members would participate in Tuesday’s strike and that things ”will get worse”.
Mlangeni said it was not possible to meet the workers’ demands. She said Metrorail lost R85-million in the last financial year.
”We cannot afford what they are demanding, it is beyond our affordability and the Transnet mandate,” she said.
Earlier Uasa said it was concerned that the drivers who had replaced those on strike were not qualified to do the work.
”They don’t comply with the company’s rules and regulations and are endangering commuters’ lives,” said Uasa spokesperson Gerhard Ueckermann. – Sapa