Johannesburg’s Metrobus and the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) on Thursday ended a five-week strike that has left thousands of passengers stranded and cost the company millions of rands.
The industrial action started due to Samwu members’ dissatisfaction with the new shift system implemented in December 2010.
In terms of the deal, the union accepted the new shift system, which is at the centre of the dispute.
Metrobus managing director Herman van Laar said the bus operation would resume on Tuesday next week, when the new shift system would be implemented.
Van Laar said the company was not sure whether it would reimburse passengers who had already paid for bus fares in advance or extend the expiry date of the ticket tags.
At the signing of the agreement on Thursday, the two parties agreed to set up a task team that would look at the shift system.
The task team would comprise eight members from organised labour and Metrobus.
Samwu spokesperson Dumisani Langa said the establishment of the task team influenced the union’s decision to call off the strike.
‘Small loss’
Langa denied that the African National Congress (ANC) interfered in the decision to end the labour dispute.
Van Laar said: “We are pleased to inform the public and our passengers that Samwu has accepted the new shift system as implemented by the company.”
Van Laar said the bus operator lost R10-million in potential revenue.
Metrobus also lost R2,5-million in expenses related to additional security and legal fees.
Van Laar said the company could make a “small loss” for the financial year ending in June as a result of the strike.
Workers also lost wage income during the strike.
The strike started on February 9 and Metrobus suspended its bus service on February 13, owing to incidents of intimidation.
“The introduction of the new shift system is aimed at improving the efficiency of services and to position Metrobus as part of an effective public transport system,” Van Laar said.
He said the company expected some of its passengers to stop using Metrobus service, noting that the company tended to lose 10% to 15% of passengers after a strike. — I-Net Bridge