The United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu) said on Thursday that next week’s planned strike by Transnet workers over the parastatal’s restructuring plans will continue.
Utatu spokesperson Chris de Vos said the union was disappointed that a meeting with Transnet management on Thursday yielded no results.
”They [Transnet management] are still not willing to budge. We will continue to roll out strike action,” said De Vos. ”However, we have made headway in that we have agreed there will be regular forums with management to address issues we may have.”
Transnet seeks to privatise some businesses or parts of business units, resulting in South African Airways (SAA), Metrorail and Shosholoza Meyl being moved out of Transnet. However, they will remain publicly owned.
Union members went on a three-day strike in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State this week. Union members in KwaZulu-Natal who went on strike on Monday returned to work on Thursday. However, trucks outside the Durban container terminal on Thursday morning were backed up as the facility attempted to get rid of the backlog.
”They don’t want congestion in the terminal, so they make them park outside,” said Terry Hutson, editor of the ports and ships website.
The strike affected commuter trains in Durban, the container terminal and the port of Richards Bay. Metrorail spokesperson Thandi Mlangeni said commuter trains in Durban were running as usual.
Employees of the parastatal in the Eastern Cape will strike on February 13 if a settlement is not reached, union leaders said.
They will 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.
The unions involved in the action are the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union, Utatu, the South African Railway and Harbour Workers’ Union and the United Association of South Africa.
Earlier on Thursday, SAA obtained an interim Labour Court order against a sympathy strike by Satawu members. Spokesperson Jacqui O’Sullivan said the order will remain in place until final judgement next Tuesday.
The SAA sought to prevent Satawu members in its employ from striking in support of labour action by Transnet workers.
”I’m not aware of it. Satawu will only be able to comment on it by tomorrow [Friday]. We’ll have to study the judgement and then make a statement,” said Satawu’s Randall Howard. — Sapa