The third round of talks to break the 12-week security strike logjam are under way after third parties, including Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille, managed to coax negotiators back to the table.
At the same time, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) gave some indication of the costs of strike action for labour, revealing that it has paid more than R500 000 in bail for strikers arrested on a range of charges. Satawu spokesperson Ronnie Mamba said that, since the beginning of May, the union had paid about R120 000 a week on bail.
The union is also contesting a court claim by the Cape Town City Council for about R100 000 and resi-dents’ claims for more than R200 000 for damage done during strike protests.
On Monday, Congress of South African Trade Unions president Willie Madisha called on Cosatu’s affiliates to contribute to a solidarity fund to cover Satawu’s strike expenses.
Assuming that 35 000 workers are on strike and that the average wage is R1 500, strikers have already lost about R130-million in pay. The loss per striker is about R3 700. Ndimeka pointed out that the total April 1 agreement would have garnered each worker an additional R135 a year for three years, including benefits.
However, labour analysts stress that wages are no longer the only issue in the dispute, which has evolved into a struggle over power relations in the security industry.
De Lille is understood to have contacted security employers and unions in a bid to understand the problems of the industry. She has also made a donation to the striking unions, specifically to meet the needs of strikers’ families, and met security employers and striking guards.
Late last week, Business Unity South Africa (Busa) contacted the 14 security unions’ representatives to ask if they would re-engage to bring the violent strike to an end, said National Security and Unqualified Workers’ Union leader Harold Ndimeka.