Thousands of Metrobus commuters were left stranded on Tuesday morning as none of the company’s 457 buses were operating.
Metrobus managing director Bheki Shongwe said non-striking union, the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu), told its members not to work on Tuesday.
This followed a series of violent incidents in which bus drivers were attacked while on duty.
A bus driver was shot dead on Monday in Faraday while another was shot and wounded in Kensington last week.
Shongwe said it was possible that the shootings were linked to the ongoing Metrobus strike, which started on January 31.
”We agree with Imatu that it is not safe to be driving buses at the moment. We really cannot force our employees to work when we know that may put their lives in danger,” said Shongwe.
He said Metrobus feared drivers may be attacked when they were transporting passengers, bringing commuters into danger.
”Today [Tuesday] we will try to engage with Samwu [South African Municipal Workers’ Union] with the hope to put an end to the strike.”
Samwu spokesperson Dumisani Langa said the union had been calling for a meeting with the employer since the strike started.
”The problem is they think they are superior and want us to kneel in front of them and beg. All we need is for them to meet with us and resolve the dispute,” said Langa.
He said the workers were supposed to have met management on Monday, ”but they said there was no one to talk to us”.
”We find that very strange because they managed to hold their little meeting with Imatu on the same day.”
Demonstrations would continue at the Metrobus offices in Braamfontein until Friday.
”We will then assess the situation and decide on our next move,” said Langa.
The workers are in dispute with management over accumulated sick leave.
Langa said workers were told in 2005 that they stood to lose sick leave accumulated over 15 years if it was not taken within 30 days. This was after Metrobus took over the service from the City of Johannesburg.
”When members were transferred to Metrobus they said all the same terms and conditions would apply, but then when they came across, Metrobus said they would do away with accumulated sick leave,” said Langa.
In November last year, the union asked that workers be paid out and cancelled a planned strike.
”We want this resolved as quickly and peacefully as possible,” said Langa. — Sapa