There will be no buses operating until Metrobus is confident that its employees and commuters are safe, the company said on Monday.
”We wish operation was possible, but until we have a sense that commuters and staff are safe … until we have assurance, we cannot [operate],” said Metrobus managing director Bheki Shongwe.
Metrobus has been locked in a dispute with the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) for more than a month over the payment of unused sick leave and the reinstatement of dismissed staffers.
The strike took an ugly turn last month when a Metrobus driver was shot and wounded and another shot and killed.
The possibility of the incidents being linked to the ongoing dispute was not ruled out.
On Friday Metrobus temporarily suspended operations after one of its buses was found burnt out in Kagiso, near Krugersdorp, at about 4am.
The charred bodies of two Metrobus employees were found inside the bus.
It is believed that the bus was hijacked while taking Metrobus employees to work.
Shongwe said the company was monitoring the situation on Monday and felt it was still not safe for its employees to go back to work.
On Sunday, the bus company offered a R50 000 reward for information that would help track down those responsible for the attacks on their bus drivers.
Meanwhile, attempts by the bus company to meet with the union to end the dispute were unsuccessful on Monday.
”We are ready to meet with them, but they are unreachable on their cellphones,” said Shongwe.
He said that although the company had not calculated the financial impact of the strike, it had cost the company ”a lot of money”.
It also affected about 90 000 commuters who rely on its services.
Samwu was not available for comment by Monday afternoon. — Sapa