Cash in Transit: Calls for a third man to guard cash boxes

The Motor Transport Workers Union (MTWU) say their members in the Cash in Transit sector are worried about their safety as the number of attacks on money trucks has increased.

The union has threatened to go on a national strike if the Cash in Transit companies do not agree to honour a demand to have a third person travel with the two who normally transport the money around.

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Spokesperson for the union Musa Tshabalala said attacks on Cash in Transit workers had reached alarming levels.

“If you look at the current situation in our country, once a week there are CIT vehicles that are being bombed, there is a CIT vehicle that has been robbed, and there is a member who is being injured. This is about the safety of our members that are not protected on the current two-man trip,” he told The Citizen.

According to Tshabalala a third man in the vehicle would be able to escort another CIT official who has the cash while another one remains in the car,

“MTWU wants to finally place on record to its members and the public that the Employers ‘Associations representing the CIT companies must agree to the proposed turnaround strategies and mechanisms advocated for, to advanced and implement them, as these measures will undoubtedly mitigate the spike of cash-in transit and the associated risk,” Tshabalala said.

He said while CIT workers were offered bulletproof vests and guns this was not enough.

“A bulletproof covers a man’s chest it does not protect a man; his head is not covered his legs are not covered. Imagine carrying one million cash in the box. We need a third man,” he said.

According to Tshabalala workers in the sector have received wage increases but the safety aspect was still an issue.

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“When our members leave home in the morning, they are not even sure that they will come back home,” he said.

Tshabalala said malls, ATMs and the taxi industry would be affected should unions in the sector go on strike. The union was expected to announce dates for the commencement of the strike this week.