Trade unions on Wednesday said they were ”very satisfied” with their first in a series of strikes against Transnet’s restructuring programme.
”We are very satisfied. On the short notice that we organised it, we never thought it would be this successful,” the United Transport and Allied Trade Union’s Chris de Vos said.
He said most of those striking since Monday in the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal were not directly affected by the restructuring and had done so out of sympathy for their colleagues.
On Wednesday, the last day of the strike, about 10 000 workers would march to the Durban City Hall to present a memorandum to a Transnet representative.
The strike, which started on Monday, has affected the running of commuter trains in Durban, as well as the Richards Bay and Durban ports. Its effect in the Free State was negligible, Transnet said on Tuesday.
Metrorail spokesperson Thandi Mlangeni said Durban’s commuter trains were running at 40% capacity on Wednesday.
”I’m sure it will increase as more people turn up for work as we go,” she said.
The four unions concerned would meet with Transnet again on Thursday.
”Let’s hope that something will come from this meeting. I’m not overexcited. I don’t think they’re going to change their attitude,” De Vos said.
Should an agreement be reached at the meeting, De Vos said the next series of strikes would not take place.
Employees of the parastatal in the Eastern Cape would strike on February 13. They would be followed by their colleagues in the Northern and Western Cape on February 14. Those in Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo will join the protests on February 20.
Should the dispute still not be resolved, unions have threatened a national strike on March 6.
Unions were sceptical about Transnet’s assurances that no jobs would be lost during the restructuring.
”There’s no doubt in my mind … there will be many job losses,” De Vos said.
Transnet’s executive manager for strategy Pradeep Maharaj said on Tuesday: ”In exiting Transnet, those employee benefits will be protected and are protected by the Labour Relations Act.”
No jobs would be lost at Metrorail and SA Airways. Employees of inter-city bus operator Autopax and road transport company Freightdynamics however could not be accommodated elsewhere once these had been closed, De Vos said.
Maharaj said on Tuesday it was in the interest of the economy as a whole to move businesses not related to rail and freight transport out of Transnet.
A sleeker company would increase business and lead to more investment and growth of the economy. – Sapa