158 bus drivers have been dismissed by Rea Vaya bus operating company, Piotrans following a violation of their employment contract.
The dismissal comes after several attempts by management to get the workers to report for work with no success.
Dumisani Mntambo, General Manager of Strategy and Transformation at Piotrans said the decision was not an easy one but the company couldn’t afford the inconvenience caused by the work stoppage.
On the morning of February 2, bus drivers embarked on a work stoppage when they left buses unattended in Johannesburg CBD, causing traffic and a disruption to services.
“We attempted several actions to get the workers back to work. A disciplinary hearing for their grievances to be heard and for them to defend their actions was held but they did not show up.” explained Mntambo.
According to Mntambo, abandoning buses while causing disruption to services is a dismiss-able offence; “We were still willing to hear their side of their story, regardless of the dismissal offences they had already committed.”
The company is drawing up a plan to resume services with the remaining 65 drivers who are still employed by the company until more staff is available.
“We will begin the process of recruiting new drivers immediately to not inconvenience commuters further.” he said. “We will communicate the outcome of our planning as soon as it’s concluded.
Piotrans apologises for the non-availability of buses and pleads with commuters to bare with the company while they attend to the situation.
