National bus strike to go ahead on 18 April

The City of Johannesburg advises passengers that Rea Vaya buses will not be operating from tomorrow, 18 April, due to a national bus drivers’ strike.

The City has been notified that members of trade unions, Satawu and Tirisano representing drivers of the Rea Vaya bus operating companies, Piotrans and Litsamaiso, intend to embark on strike action.

Passengers are advised to use alternative transport until the strike is resolved. The City said it was their commitment to provide efficient services to commuters and it was unfortunate that they could not do so due to unforeseeable circumstances caused by the bus drivers’ strike.

For more information, check the Rea Vaya website, Facebook and Twitter on developments regarding the strike.

The City apologised for the inconvenience.

Gautrain has also issued a warning to commuters of buses not running to schedule following the news of the national bus strike.

Speaking to News 24 the secretary general of the South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council (SARPBC), Gary Wilson said, “It is definitely going ahead tomorrow. Unless the unions withdraw their intention of a notice to strike, the strike will go ahead.”

The main issues for the strike include the following:

• Unions want a 12 per cent across-the-board wage increase.
• They want full pay for dual drivers on long distances.
• They want the minimum basic wage to be R8 000 a month.
• Employees are offering a three-year across-the-board increase – 7 per cent for year one, 7.25 per cent for year two, and 7.5 per cent for year three.
• Satawu said employers want to keep the current basic minimum wage at R6 070.
• Unions want night shift to be between 16:00 and 06:00, instead of the current 20:00 to 03:00 period.
• Employers also want industry first-timers to earn R6 070 regardless of whether the company’s minimum wage is higher or not.
• Workers also want to be compensated for “sleeping out” and want “decent” accommodation.

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Commuters using Metro bus are safe, as Metro bus will be running as per usual:

For information on bus drivers’ strike, please contact, Mr. Dumisani Mntambo at 0119886558 or 0832647813 and Mr. Mpho Morokolo, General Manager: Operations, Litsamaiso at 0119886558 or 072 367 1153.