Buscor offering only 7,5 per cent increase to drivers
On Monday morning some buses were seen with fewer passengers in Mbombela allegedly because commuters were not certain if the drivers will embark with their strike or not following last week's rumours.
MBOMBELA – Representatives of Buscor drivers continue with negotiations for better wages even this week.
The negotiations so far have not interrupted the operations of buses in and around Mbombela.
Buscor deny rumours of wage strike in Mbombela
Mr Million Gama of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) confirmed that negotiations between all three unions including the Transport and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (TAWUSA) still continue on the 15 percent increase while the Buscor management has so far offered only seven and half per cent on the table.
“Negotiations still continue, if no valid agreement is reached between the three unions and the employer, a decision on what is to be done next will be taken on April 8,” he says.
“We hope to reach an agreement before the end of our negotiation period because we also care about our commuters who rely on buses on a daily basis,” he said.
Also read: Buscor increases bus fares
Mpumalanga News learnt that union representatives initially demanded a 30 percent increase, lowered it to 20 percent until they reached 15 per cent.
The employer on the other hand, offered a seven percent increase for the next three years which the unions objected.
So far the employer offered 0,5 percent increase on the initial seven percent offer for a year.
Buscor’s spokesperson, Mr Vuyani Ndlovu advised commuters to only buy weekly tickets. “This is done as a precautionary measure, hence we are only selling weekly tickets so that we do not inconvenience our passengers should union representatives and the employer not reach a mutual agreement on the negotiations table.”
