The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has averted a national strike that could have affected about 25 000 bus drivers in the private bus sector.
The three unions that had planned the action — the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union, the Transport and Allied Workers’ Union and the Transport and Omnibus Workers’ Union — signed an agreement with the employers on Tuesday, said spokesperson Lusanda Myoli.
She said the unions agreed on the 9% proposal made by the CCMA and that led to the end of the strike. ”The strike was based on wages and other conditions.”
The settlement comes after a number of meetings between the unions and employers deadlocked, with the employers offering an 8% increase and the workers demanding 10%.
The matter came to the CCMA’s attention on March 20 after media reports that the South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council had already declared the dispute unresolved and the unions had already served notice to embark on a strike.
The CCMA made a formal offer of assistance to avert the strike in terms of section 150 of the Labour Relations Act, said Myoli. The strike did not start then, as the employers had made an application to the Labour Court preventing the drivers from striking. — Sapa