The Labour Court has ordered that striking South African National Parks (SANParks) employees must comply with all provisions of the picketing rules, park authorities said on Tuesday.
”In practical terms this means that striking Hospersa [Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa] members will cease their unlawful conduct in the park — including the blowing of any noisy instruments, trying to prevent staff and guests from entering the park as well as vandalising SANParks property,” said SANParks chief executive David Mabunda.
He was specifically referring to the situation at the Kruger National Park.
The Labour Court ordered that striking members of Hospersa were to comply with all provisions of the picketing rules set aside by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration on July 4.
Hospersa assistant general secretary Manfred Rothballer said strikers had used whistles in their protests, which was in contravention of the picketing rules.
He said union members would comply with the Labour Court interdict but added that he felt the victory for SANParks was ”quite hollow”.
”We have been complying in most areas of the picketing rules. There are only a few sporadic incidents that we might have over stepped the boundary by half a millimetre,” he said.
Mabunda said SANParks had been engaging with the majority union — The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers’ Union [Saccawu] — in order to serve the needs of its majority workforce through the bargaining forum.
Hospersa insists on becoming part of the bargaining unit where the employer and unions discuss labour issues.
However, park authorities said Hospersa did not qualify because it did not represent the majority of workers in the employ of the South African National Parks.
Members of Hospersa went on strike a week ago, demanding recognition of their union by management.
Mabunda said the public had been led to believe that services at the parks had been severely disrupted by the strike.
”The reality is that the striking members of Hospersa are too few to effect any severe blow to the systems and services of SANParks,” said Mabunda.
He said that most employees were still at work.
Current figures showed that: 437 out of the 1 905 employees at the Kruger National Park (permanent members reflected only); 11 out of 129 at the Table Mountain National Park; 24 out of 87 at the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park; 6 out of 24 at Mountain Zebra National Park; and 6 out of 30 employees at the West Coast National Park were on strike today on Tuesday.
”We would like to reassure our guests that they will be able to receive the expected standard of service in the park despite the strike,” he said.
Meanwhile, as a result of striking Hospersa members, the access to the Kruger National Park through its main Kruger gate would be temporarily disrupted by a protest march on Wednesday.
Park spokesperson William Mabasa said on Tuesday that striking workers would march through the gate by 10am on Wednesday to hand over a memorandum.
”The march will probably cause delays at the gate and could perhaps frustrate visitors who plan to use this gate at that time,” he said.
”We therefore appeal to visitors to perhaps arrive earlier at Kruger Entrance Gate or to use an alternative gate.”
Mabasa said Wednesday’s march would move from the Protea Hotel to the Kruger Gate, where a memorandum outlining Hospersa’s grievances would be handed to management. — Sapa