Hundreds of striking Autopax bus drivers were congregating at Johannesburg’s Park Station ahead of a march to Beyers Naude Square on Wednesday morning, their trade union said.
Once they reached their destination, the drivers were to deliver a memorandum of demands to Autopax management, said South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) spokesperson Ronnie Mamba.
”We are just waiting for our members from Pretoria, then the march will start, followed by an address from the union leadership and the reading of the memorandum,” he said.
The union is protesting against a lack of transformation at Autopax, saying there are still no black people or women in top management. It cited labour-law infringements and mismanagement as other reasons for embarking on a strike.
Fifty percent of the company’s 1 000 workers belong to Satawu, but non-members have also joined the protest since it started last week, Mamba said.
Autopax, a division of Transnet providing bus transport, has a fleet of 240 buses and makes 52 long-distance trips every day, including trips to neighbouring countries.
On Monday, Autopax said there had been no further negotiations between the company and Satawu as the union had refused to talk to it.
Spokesperson Carl Newman also accused striking Satawu members of intimidating employees and passengers and shooting one of the company’s managers during pickets at Park Station last week.
Satawu has denied all accusations against it, and blamed the company for stalling the talks.
Autopax has suspended all national and cross-border services, saying buses will only be back on the road when the Satawu strike ends. — Sapa