Satawu set to join Transnet strike over wages
More workers are set to join the strike at Transnet on Monday morning, as union Satawu joins the industrial action.
Transnet has been offering increases ranging from 3% to 4% for the different staff levels but unions have given them the thumbs down, arguing that they are way below inflation.
Ports and rail services are being affected, with unions and the parastatal set to meet at the CCMA on Monday to find a way forward.
Untu general secretary, Cobus van Vuuren, said that they expected a large number of employees to strike from Monday.
“If you look at the numbers of the majority union, 54% representivity, and Satawu running at about 27% representivity, you’re looking at about 80% of employees that will be embarking on strike action and that is 80% of about 54,000 employees.”
He also said that Transnet needed to discuss picketing rules.
“And hopefully, Transnet will eventually embark on picketing rule discussions, which they have so far been avoiding and trying to delay the strike action,” Van Vuuren said.
Meanwhile, the business has criticized the strike.
Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) said that the strike would cost the economy billions, setting back efforts to drive a recovery.
CEO Busi Mavuso said that the mining sector had already calculated that it had lost around R50 billion so far this year due to Transnet’s deteriorating performance.
She said that it had been estimated that the industry could have generated another R100 billion in revenue were it not for capacity constraints on Transnet rail and ports.
This would have seen another R27 billion in tax revenue, which could have covered in part an extension of the social relief from distress grant.
-EWN
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