Transnet and its recognised unions UNTU and SATAWU have signed the picketing rules and agreed on the picketing sites to facilitate peaceful picketing.

On Thursday 06 October, Transnet released a statement noting the intentions of employees to embark on an illegal strike. “Any strike action taking place presently is illegal and unprotected, as one of its unions, the United National Transport Union (UNTU) has not followed the prescripts as set down in the Labour Relations Act prior to embarking on strike,” the statement read.

Transnet has since had conciliation talks with UNTU and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), which were facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on 10 October 2022. The talks concluded in the early hours of Tuesday 11 October 2022 wherein all parties signed the picketing rules and agreed on the picketing sites to facilitate peaceful picketing.

Ongoing wage negotiations and avoiding mass industrial action

The strike was because of non-resolution in the ongoing wage negotiations. The latest revised offer by Transnet for both bargaining unit and management employees is as follows:

An increase of 3% for levels G and H; a 3.5% increase for levels I and J, and a 4% increase for levels K and L. In addition, Transnet has offered an ex-gratia payment of R5000.00 (before tax) to all employees. An agreement has yet to be reached and all parties are expected to reconvene on Wednesday 12 October 2022 to take the process forward.

In a statement, Transnet expressed its concern over a mass industrial action. “Transnet’s primary focus remains to avoid mass industrial action, as this will have a profound impact on economic activity across all sectors, and urges workers to consider the long-term consequences of the strike on themselves, their colleagues, their families and the South African economy as a whole,” read the statement.

For the mining industry, mass action could result in delays and cause backlogs in the transportation of commodities both locally and internationally. The mining industry heavily relies on the services of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), which is the largest operating division of Transnet. The division’s primary business is to provide rail transport of commodities for the export, regional and domestic markets. TFR operates the world-class heavy haul coal and iron ore export lines and is developing the manganese export corridor to heavy haul standards.