The Labour Court is expected to rule soon whether bus company Putco’s employees are entitled to a 6% wage agreement reached in 2020, following a crippling wildcat strike that halted operations in Gauteng and left over 150,000 commuters in the lurch.
The company’s bus drivers downed tools eight days ago and embarked on a wildcat strike in Soweto and Pretoria, demanding that the company implement the wage agreement.
The bus company threatened to dismiss about 1,000 of its employees taking part in the illegal strike. It said it was forced to stop operations after some of its buses were vandalised, with threats that they would be set alight.
In March 2020, employers and unions including the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), Transport and Omnibus Workers Union (Towu), Togetherness Amalgamated Workers' Union of SA (Tawusa), and Tirisano Transport and Services Workers Union (Taswu), signed a one-year 6% wage agreement at the SA Road Passenger Bargaining Council.
Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu said the illegal strike was related to the salary increases and bonus for 2020. “Putco applied for exemption not to pay the 6% salary increase and the bonus for 2020 due to the impact that Covid-19 had on the finances of the company. The exemption application was done in order to save jobs and ensure sustainability of the company.”
Xulu told Business Day that unions “successfully” challenged the matter in court. “Putco has now referred the matter to the labour court for a review, because there are two rulings on it,” he said, adding they expected a ruling either Thursday or Friday.
Satawu passenger bus national co-ordinator Solomon Mahlangu said: “The matter is now in the hands of the court. We hope the court will have a final say on this matter. We can’t pre-empt what’s going to happen. We are waiting for the labour court to make a ruling.”
Xulu said the wildcat strike has had a “huge impact” on commuters, leaving 150,000 stranded across Gauteng. The company elected to halt operations after receiving threats from workers that “our buses will be torched”. The company has since urged passengers to make alternative transport arrangements until the matter was resolved.
“We are engaging with labour unions to ensure that workers return to work and avoid service disruptions.”
Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the labour federation was deeply concerned by reports that Putco has “expressed an intention to dismiss 1,000 employees for standing up for their rights and demanding an inflation related wage increase”. The SA Reserve Bank has forecast a headline inflation rate of 6.5% for 2022.
Unions across various sectors of the economy including energy, steel and manufacturing, and automotive, have been demanding inflation-beating increases due to the rising cost of living that has resulted in sharp increases in food, fuel, transport and electricity costs. Cosatu and its breakaway, the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), recently marched to the Union Buildings to demand that the government intervene in the socioeconomic crisis dogging the country.
“We offer our solidarity to the workers and intend to give support to our affiliated union Satawu to defend the workers and prevent their dismissal. It is unacceptable that a bus company that enjoys public subsidies is failing to handle this labour dispute with the diligence it deserves but is threatening to send more breadwinners on the unemployment line,” Pamla said. The country is battling an unemployment rate of 34.5%
“We call on the management of Putco to sit down with unions and other stakeholders to address the concerns that are currently on the table. Employers should understand that if they fail to soberly handle this growing resentment, it will only harden attitudes and fuel the rising militancy and struggles for better wages and better working conditions,” said Pamla.
In 2021, the bus industry, which employs about 35,000 workers and receives a subsidy from government, signed a one-year 4% wage agreement. In April, the sector signed a one-year 6% pay hike deal, which will see the industry’s minimum wage rise from R40.43 an hour to R42.85.
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