According to a statement by NUMSA, South Africa could see a national strike at the end of March, potentially disrupting the upcoming Easter Weekend.
This follows the National Union of Metal Workers (NUMSA) announcing a deadlock in negotiations with employers at the South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council (SARPBC).
Amid wage negotiations with various employer associations, NUMSA stated that it aims to improve working conditions within the sector. However, within the initial stages of the wage talks, the union encountered a deadlock with the respective employer associations.
NUMSA, together with other unions, outlined the core demands which it seeks to obtain:
- Primary health care – Full compulsory healthcare for all workers in the industry, subject to qualifying exemptions. Employer contributes 50% and worker contributes 50%.
- Increase in the allowance for the double driver from R450 to R900. (Drivers do on average 18 trips per month, this then represents about R25-00 per trip)
- A 10% increase across the board. NUMSA explained that during negotiations, they reduced their initial demand from 15% to 10%.
- NUMSA further wants a one year agreement. However, the union noted that if the employer wanted a multi-year agreement, they would have to put a good offer on the table.
Looking at its demands, NUMSA stressed that the employers came unprepared to meet their core demands.
“For example, they are only offering a conditional 4% increase, and they demanded that the unions drop all other demands. They tried to persuade us to extend the first round of wage talks, but we have rejected this proposal,” said NUMSA.
The union further pointed out that its members gave them a mandate to make significant progress in the five days which were allocated to the talks, but noted the agreement was far from completion. NUMSA did however state that it did not want to prolong negotiations unnecessarily.
“The current agreement is going to expire on the 31st of March therefore we have no choice, but to act with speed to try and resolve this round of wage talks. This is why we decided to declare a dispute, because it became clear that we are not finding each other on the demands outlined above and employers are not prepared to even respond to our core demands,” said NUMSA.
Consequently, NUMSA declared a dispute and convened a meeting of Shop stewards in the bus passenger sector to strategise the way forward. The Bargaining Council is expected to confirm a date for conciliation within the next 30 days.
“We are waiting for the Bargaining Council to confirm a date for conciliation which should happen in about 30 days times. In the meantime, we demand that employers must use this time and come back with a better offer, otherwise if they fail, a national strike in the bus passenger sector is unavoidable,” said NUMSA.
Acknowledging the potential inconvenience caused by a nationwide strike, NUMSA emphasised its willingness to resort to such action if employers fail to present a decent offer. With Easter Sunday on 31 May 2024, the looming threat of a nationwide strike raises uncertainty for motorists planning weekend getaways during this time.
As the situation unfolds, individuals are invited to share their views in the comment section below.
Comments 1
As always Unions doing more damage than good for the economy with their ridiculous demands.
South Africas economy is stagnant and yet they are still trying to damage whats left and threatening hard working individuals jobs. Useless as always, just like our president