Economists have warned that the economy will suffer because of the Transnet strike and intermittent power outages in major cities, Business Day reported on Monday.
These factors would keep the country’s growth rate for the first quarter below 3%, economists said at the weekend.
The economy grew 3,3% the fourth quarter of last year but economists said it could take a pounding this quarter if the strike was successful.
T-Sec chief economist Mike Schussler said Monday’s strike by Transnet employees from four unions, the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the SA Communist Party could cost the economy R100-million or more.
Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim said the cumulative effect of the strike, along with Western Cape power cuts, could take 0,5% off GDP growth in the first quarter in a worst-case scenario.
Union officials will meet Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin in Pretoria on Monday afternoon to discuss delaying the transfer of Metrorail to the commuter rail assets custodian, the South African Rail Commuter Corporation.
The unions want the process to be put off until the end of the year to give them time to complete negotiations over employee benefits.
Minimal disruptions at Durban
Operations at the port in Durban were minimally affected as a result of union members downing tools on Monday, Transnet said.
Transnet spokesperson John Dludlu said a percentage figure on how operations at the port were affected was not immediately available.
”However, ports throughout the rest of the country were running at 100%. We are just prioritising on ensuring that our clients’ freight is moved as smoothly as possible. All contingency plans to ensure this are in place,” Dludlu said.
Transnet is the holding company for Spoornet, Petronet, Metrorail and the National Ports Authority.
In Transnet’s transformation process, some companies belonging to it are expected to be transferred to government and other units sold to the private sector.
”Whether it was a sale or transfer to government the conditions or service would not change, neither would jobs be lost as a result of the restructuring,” Dludlu said at the weekend.
However, about 50 000 workers were expected to down tools because they are concerned that workers would lose benefits due to the transferral of pension funds, and that they had not been informed of the service conditions contained in the sale agreement.
The mediation process fell apart at the weekend when Transnet management announced that they had signed a sale agreement for Metrorail with the SA Rail Commuter Corporation (SARCC) effective April 1.
‘Everyone is crowding to the buses’
Only thirty percent of the country’s trains were running by 8am on Monday because of a nationwide strike by unions over Transnet’s restructuring plans, Metrorail said.
Spokesperson Thandi Mlangeni said services were being severely affected.
”We have provided about 500 buses nationally to help commuters get to work. But, we are having a problem because people are not seeking their own transport. Everyone is crowding to the buses. We still need more buses because these are not enough,” Mlangeni said.
In the Western Cape, 19% of the trains were running and in Tshwane 36%. In Durban 33% were running, and at Wits in the greater Johannesburg area only 32% were running.
”We do not seem to be having any problems in the Eastern Cape. Our trains seem to be running at 100% there. However, we will monitor the situation there,” Mlangeni said.
Most commuters in Mabopane, north of Pretoria were stranded, SABC radio news reported on Monday morning.
The report said commuters complained that they had been told by Metrorail that buses would be provided for them, but they could not find any.
In Pretoria only five trains arrived to take commuters to the city.
The SABC reported that in Bellville, Cape Town no commuters were on the platform.
A security guard at the train station said commuters decided to seek alternative transport after being told of the strike. – Sapa