Transport strike updates

Trucks

The SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) will have to soldier on alone in the transport sector strike after three associate unions yesterday accepted a double-digit wage offer made by truck owners.

This came as mining companies continued to dismiss workers who persisted with their unprotected industrial actions.

The fragmentation in the truckers’ strike came after the Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Tawu), the Professional Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Ptawu) and the Motor Transport Workers’ Union, who collectively represent 15 000 employees, accepted a 10 percent pay increase and ended their action yesterday afternoon.

Reckson Baloyi, the general secretary of Ptawu, said the employers had offered 10 percent for 2013, 8 percent for 2014 and 9 percent for the year after.

He said he expected the talks to continue at a later date under the auspices of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.

Satawu spokesman Vincent Masoga said its 28 000 members would continue to strike.

Magretia Brown-Engelbrecht, a spokeswoman for the Road Freight Employers Association, said the talks would continue with the four unions.

In the mining sector, Atlatsa Resources Corporation said yesterday that 2 161 employees who had been on strike at Bokoni Platinum Mines since last week, had been dismissed following the granting of a court interdict in favour of Bokoni. Dismissed employees had until the close of business today to appeal their dismissal, the company said.

And Gold One said yesterday that, following appropriate disciplinary procedures, the company had dismissed about 1 435 of the 1 900 employees at its Ezulwini operation following an unprotected strike.

Dismissed employees had until tomorrow to appeal their dismissals.

Strikes continued at Kumba Iron Ore’s Sishen mine in the Northern Cape, where 300 out of 12 700 employees are on strike for salary increases. The Anglo American subsidiary, suspended production at Sishen last Thursday and is losing 120 000 ounces a day.

Thousands of employees at Gold Fields’ Beatrix and KDC West mines, and employees at Harmony Gold’s Kusasalethu mine near Carletonville, are also striking for higher wages.

Production remained at a standstill amid an unprotected strike at AngloGold Ashanti’s Kopanang mine, which had spread to five other operations by September 25.

The talks between gold producers and the National Union of Mineworkers continued under the auspices of the Chamber of Mines yesterday.

Yesterday’s dismissals at Bokoni came after Anglo American Platinum fired 12 000 employees at its Rustenburg operations on Friday. Workers had not returned to work despite repeated calls by the company.

The workers were fired after failing to make representations or to attend their disciplinary hearings.

Those affected were given three days to appeal the decision to fire them. – Wiseman Khuzwayo, Dineo Faku and Sapa

Source : iol.co.za
Tags : transport, transport strike, strikes, south africa strikes, satawu