The Gautrain management is willing to return to the negotiating table to end the wage deadlock after members of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) embarked on an indefinite strike over higher salaries on Monday.
Numsa is demanding an 8% wage increase, against the 4.1% the company is offering. The union’s wage demand is much more than inflation.
Inflation, as measured by the annual change in the consumer price index, accelerated 3.2% year on year in July from 2.2% previously, marking the first time the inflation print was within the Reserve Bank’s 3%-6% target band since April.
Gautrain spokesperson Kesagee Nayager told Business Day on Monday that Numsa has rejected the offer they have tabled.
“Numsa is demanding an increase that equates to 26%. We have not officially seen the 8% demand that Numsa has been referring to in the media,” said Nayager.
“We believe that an increase of 4.1% is fair given our economic circumstances. Since the outbreak of Covid-19 not a single Gautrain worker took home reduced pay and not a single job was lost at Gautrain.
“This was a principled decision that the company took upfront — and this was in spite of the losses that we had incurred and continue to incur. We are calling on Numsa and our workers to consider the offer of 4.1% taking all of these factors into account.”
The six-month Covid-19 lockdown has had a devastating effect on SA’s embattled economy, forecast to contract 7% or more during 2020.
The economy contracted at an annualised rate of 51% during the second quarter, the worst quarterly collapse on record. If the second-quarter results are not annualised, GDP contracted 16.4%.
According to data released by Stats SA, 2.2-million jobs were lost during the second quarter.
Nayager said they have implemented a contingency plan to ensure they continue to deliver a train service to passengers. Trains are operating at 15-minute intervals during the morning peak period between 5.30am and 9am on Monday.
The same will apply during the afternoon peak period between 3pm and 7pm, said Nayager, adding that the train service will not be available during the off-peak period on Monday. “But the bus and midi-bus service is not affected by the strike and will continue operate as per the standard schedule.”
The Gautrain has been operational since June 2010 and was aimed at alleviating traffic congestion between Johannesburg and Tshwane.
“We are willing to return to negotiations as we do want to end the wage deadlock but to do that, Numsa must be prepared to consider the counterdemands by the company and to negotiate in good faith,” Nayager said.
Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola welcomed the offer by the management to continue negotiations.
“We have been saying to them that we want to avoid a strike. The 4.1% offer they are talking about was not made around a negotiating table. They e-mailed it to us, saying it was their final offer.”
Hlubi-Majola said they will call on the company to open its books to back its claims the 4.1% offer is fair.
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