A strike by Metrorail train drivers entered a second day on Tuesday as unionists insisted that the labour action had a ”huge impact” on services.
”The service they [Metrorail] are running is a public holiday or a Sunday service. It is having huge impact because most of their train drivers are on strike,” said United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu) spokesperson Pieter Greyling.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) said on Monday that Metrorail’s train service performance for the morning stood at 80% of its regular service.
But Greyling dismissed this.
”That is pure propaganda,” said Greyling.
Utatu represents between 2 500 and 2 800 Metrorail workers, including train drivers and most of the admin staff, such as ticket sellers.
The main sticking point in wage negotiations with Metrorail was a proposed new limitation on the number of overtime hours workers could claim, said Greyling.
”This will mean that our people could end up earning between R4 000 and R6 000 less per month. These people have been working this overtime for years now, and now the company wants to start limiting it.”
Utatu’s fellow union, the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu), is not taking part in the strike. — Sapa