Two major bus lines were affected on Thursday as the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) embarked on a national strike.
Union spokesperson Ronnie Mamba said 104 Translux and City to City bus trips were affected.
Fifty-two buses had not left Johannesburg on scheduled daily national and international trips and a further 52 Gauteng-bound buses were also affected.
”No bus at all has left,” he said.
Mamba said roughly 300 people, including administration staff and drivers, were picketing at Park Station in Johannesburg.
The strike action is against Autopax, a division of Transnet that deals with bus transportation, which owns the Translux and City to City bus lines.
The union is protesting against labour infringements, including lack of transformation.
Autopax spokesperson Carl Newman said the countrywide strike had affected all routes.
Mamba said the company had written to Satawu and said it wanted to engage with the union.
”We are open to negotiation,” he said.
Autopax has a fleet of 240 buses and makes 52 long-distance trips every day, including trips to neighbouring countries. Satawu has a 60% membership among the company’s 1 000 workers, but non-members had also joined the protest, Mamba said. — Sapa