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14 August 2009
With Metrorail having rejected Utatu’s call for renewed salary negotiations, starting Monday, 17 August a costly rail strike now seems unavoidable.
On Friday 14 August rail union Utatu served Metrorail with the statutory 48 hours’ notice required for a legal and protected strike.
“Our members know that the no work, no pay rule will apply,” Utatu General Secretary, Chris de Vos, told the media at a Friday briefing. “They did not want to strike. They and Utatu have done all in their power to avoid a strike. A last effort meeting with the Group CEO, Lucky Montana, on Thursday evening was a waste of time says De Vos”. But faced with Metrorail refusing to continue negotiating, We have no other option but to use our last remaining weapon.”
The strike has been triggered by a variety of factors, namely:
- Metrorail’s unprecedented action in breaking off negotiations with Utatu when it was on the brink of agreeing an effective 9,5% pay deal with Utatu, to engineer an inferior 8% deal with Satawu.
- The superior pay settlements being accorded to workers elsewhere.
- Metrorail’s unilateral imposition of the inferior deal to all of its workers.
“Metrorail is justifying its action by claiming that Satawu is the majority union. Technically, it is correct. Satawu does have more members.
“But you cannot run a railway with general workers and ticket examiners. Most of Metrorail’s train drivers, technicians and qualified operating staff are Utatu members.
“Our members – and many other Metrorail workers – are shattered and disappointed that Satawu allowed itself to become party to an agreement that serves managerial expedience ahead of labour’s best interests.
“They are determined to make a stand against what they see as a devious and unprincipled attempt by management to disadvantage them.”
Can a strike still be averted at this late stage?
“It seems unlikely, but miracles do happen,” says De Vos. If Metrorail quickly shows a sincere desire to return to the offer of 9.5% they had on the table, we can settle. Then it might still be possible to call off the strike.
“I repeat - we did not want to strike because we know that our actions will cause hardships. We apologise up front to the commuting public and to the businesses that will be negatively affected. But it takes two to tango. What can we do when Metrorail has preferred to inflict pain on its customers and damage to the economy to the lesser cost of honouring the pay deal it originally negotiated with Utatu?
“No doubt Metrorail will try to keep some of its trains running during the strike. If it manages this, we hope that it will take the necessary security measures to protect commuters from the overcrowding, anger and confusion that will result. We demand that the safety of commuters will not be compromised by Management”.
• Labour Federation Fedusa is giving the Utatu strike its full support. Questioning the right of State officials to abandon the negotiating process they are paid to perform in favour of an action that will damage the entire economy, the Federation has urged the Ministers of Public Enterprises and Transport to intervene to force Metrorail back to the bargaining table.
• Asked if Satawu’s action would trigger a union war within Transnet, De Vos said that he hoped not. “A sister union easing the way to an inferior deal for all workers is a new experience for us. Nevertheless, Utatu places a high value on union unity. It is the only positive way forward for the members of both unions. The two unions have worked well together in the past to the benefit of all of Transnet’s workers. We are hoping that when the dust settles, and when Satawu has had the chance to fully evaluate the consequences of its action, we can return to that situation.”
Contact detail:
CJ de Vos – General Secretary UTATU
082 882 5920
P Greyling – Deputy General Secretary UTATU
083 281 3897
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