The SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu), the country’s largest union in the local government sector, is on Monday expected to challenge a decision by Gautrain to fire about 300 bus drivers.
According to the Cosatu affiliate, the Gautrain bus service “has dismissed tens of workers for refusing to drive buses that are unroadworthy and without permits. Workers have been illegally locked out of employer premises in Midrand, hence the delay in Gautrain buses.”
Gautrain spokesperson Kesagee Nayager said: “All Gautrain buses are fully registered with valid licences as well as certificates of roadworthy. Not all buses have valid operating licences and we are in discussion with the department of roads & transport to expedite the issuance of these operating licences.”
Nayager said workers who had embarked on an “illegal work stoppage have been issued with notices of dismissal and management is in discussion with Samwu in this regard”.
“The work stoppage and dismissal of workers has impacted the bus service. We have been operating a limited bus service at all stations aside from Rosebank, Sandton and Rhodesfield,” said Nayager.
“We appeal to passengers using the bus service to and from Rosebank, Sandton and Rhodesfield to make alternative transport arrangements until further notice. We also wish to use this opportunity to apologise to our affected customers for the inconvenience caused.”
Nayager did not respond to questions about the number of dismissed workers and processes followed, in line with labour legislation, in axing them.
Samwu Joburg regional chair Ester Mtatyana said: “Plus or minus 300 workers have been fired. Our members are not on strike, they are just refusing to drive buses that are unroadworthy and lack operating permits.
“Some of these buses have been sitting without permits for 12 months. Our members are saying they can no longer drive the buses because they get traffic fines of R2,500, which they have to pay out of their own pockets.”
Mtatyana said the union, representing 160,000 of SA’s nearly 300,000 municipal workers, would meet its legal representative on Monday. “We will consult with him and take the matter to court.”
Operated by Bombela Operating Company, the Gautrain is important to Gauteng’s economy as it links SA’s economic and financial hub of Joburg to the capital city of Tshwane, which boasts the Ford, BMW and Nissan manufacturing plants.
Gautrain also connects the two cities to the Ekurhuleni metro, where Africa’s busiest airport, OR Tambo International, is located.
Travelling at speeds of up to 160km/h, the train transports about 40,000 passengers a day and about 12,000 by bus.
The Gautrain project, however, which cost more than R30bn to construct, has been criticised by labour unions for not serving the province’s township areas, where most workers live.
This spurred Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi to announce during his recent state of the province address that his administration would invest R120bn in the expansion of the Gautrain — valued at about R45bn — to Soweto via Fourways, Mamelodi, Atteridgeville, Lanseria and Springs.
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