Trade unions representing workers in the road freight and logistics industry have warned of a strike that could affect key industries in the country’s economy, including cash-in-transit guards, couriers and truck drivers.
A wage dispute between parties at the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry (NBCRFLI) has been referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) for arbitration, failing which a strike certificate may be issued.
Workers are demanding 32% wage increases across the board for three years, which comes to 10.6% each year from 2018, while employers offered 18%. The wage negotiations started on June 4.
Unions have also tabled a precedent-setting demand that foreign nationals be limited to 25% of the overall employees in each company in the sector, as well as security features for cash-in-transit employees.
The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) spokesperson Zanele Sabela told Business Day that there were employers who hired predominantly foreign nationals, which was what necessitated the demand for a moratorium.
The unions, including Satawu, represent 30% of the industry’s total 105,000 workers.
Cash-in-transit employees
For cash-in-transit employees, the unions want employers to hire extra security to ensure the safety of both the cash and the officers transporting it. There have been more than 159 cash-in-transit heists since the beginning of 2018, with security guards being killed and injured in the process.
"Unions are demanding that each vehicle be manned by at least three people to ensure the safety of both the cash being transported and the officers. Unions have also appealed to companies to provide officers with adequate artillery so they can protect themselves from heavily armed robbers. Labour also wants the government to regulate the manufacturing of cash-in-transit vehicles so that safety features are standardised across the industry," said the unions.
Last month, hundreds of security guards working in the money-transportation sector took to the streets to protest against the spike in heists across the country, imploring the government to intervene.
Unions said they also want the minimum wages for the officers to be increased to R20,000 a month due to the dangers faced on the job. The demand for the salaries of truck drivers included increases to R15,000.
The National Employers’ Association of SA (Neasa) CEO Gerhard Papenfus said the workers’ demands were "substantially" above the employers’ position. He said the parties would engage on August 1 and should no agreement be reached by August 17, a strike certificate may be issued.
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