The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has announced that it will hold a national strike over the Easter weekend, potentially leaving passengers stranded.
According to bus passenger sector workers, their employers have refused to negotiate a pay raise since January.
Also read: Public sector strike ends after government and unions reach an agreement
According to EWN, bus passenger sector workers claim that their employers, the South African Bus Employers Association and the Commuter Bus Employers Organisations, have refused to negotiate a wage increase since January.
According to Jacaranda FM, Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says the looming strike is the result of the employers’ obstinacy.
‘We have been trying to negotiate with employers since January through the South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council, and we declared a dispute in February, but employers are stubbornly refusing to give workers a meaningful increase,’ she said.
She explained that the strike was triggered by the employer’s refusal to negotiate health insurance benefits and that workers in the sector do not have any kind of medical aid or insurance at all.
According to Hlubi-Majola, their members are demanding a 7% wage increase.
Hlubi-Majola stated that employers had proposed a 6% raise for three years in exchange for workers dropping their demand for medical aid and insurance; however, the union’s members are demanding a minimum 7% wage increase for years one and two, from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2025.
According to Hlubi-Majola, this proposal is contingent on workers dropping their demand for medical insurance and requesting a meeting with the employer within the next 48 hours.
‘We have obtained a strike authorisation, and if the employers do not come back to the negotiating table, we will have no choice but to resort to a full-blown strike, and this is likely to impact the upcoming Easter weekend,’ she concluded.
Also read:
Picture: Unsplash