Bus strike continues as unions refuse offer

Commuters should brace for more inconvenience as the national bus strike is set to drag on even longer, with unions having scheduled a meeting today to “strategise a way forward”.

This after employer associations issued them with an ultimatum to accept their wage settlement offer.

Spokesperson for the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), Zanele Sabela, said no deal had been reached as “employers [remain] static at a 9% increase for 11 months for the first year and 8% for the second year, and say they will revert back to 8% for the first year and 8.5% in the second year if [unions] don’t accept by Wednesday”.

Sabela said the unions would meet tomorrow to discuss a way forward. Bus workers affiliated to five unions embarked on a nationwide strike two weeks ago, after employer associations refused to agree to their demands.

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and Minister of Labour Mildred Oliphant intervened and facilitated the three-month-old wage talks in an attempt to break the deadlock in wage negotiations.

However, the interventions failed to bring resolution between the parties and unions called on the minister of transport, Blade Nzimande, to intervene.

Sabela reported that unions “are calling on Nzimande to intervene in the ongoing impasses in the bus sector wage negotiations after involvement by his labour counterpart [CCMA] did not produce the desired result”.

However, Sabela said Nzimande had since responded alongside Oliphant by “urging us to come to an agreement, and [leave] the CCMA to run with the process”.

While no talks with the employer associations and the unions have been scheduled yet, the CCMA will continue to facilitate talks between the two parties until a resolution is found.

For more news your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.