The unions at the heart of the matter - the South African Transport and Allied Workers (Satawu) and the United National Transport Union (Untu) – have at this stage both served the country’s rail, port and pipeline company with 48-hour notices to down tools. Satawu’s head of communications, Amanda Tshemese, tells the OFM Business Hour, that when wage negotiations began in May 2022, they were seeking a 13,5% wage increment on behalf of their members. Transnet reportedly told the unions that they couldn’t afford this increase. 

Tshemese says they in turn lowered their demand to 12%. Transnet came back with a 1,5% offer which Satawu labels as “an insult” to their members. Following several rounds of negotiations, the situation appears to have deadlocked with both unions threatening to down tools. 

The Satawu head of communications says they are aware of the impact that this demonstration will have on the country’s already problematic ports and their first priority was not strike action, however, they feel they are not left with much of a choice by Transnet. 

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When asked if the public entity can afford these increments, Tshemese says sternly that “it cannot be our problem, if they meet the capacity or do not. Transnet is where it is today, because of maladministration and corruption that has been suffocating the entity for years. As a union, we have been addressing the issues of corruption and money laundering with no accountability at that entity”. 

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Satawu is of the view that if the executives at the entity can be earning salaries stretching into the millions, why can’t they grant the hard-working employees of the entity the salary increment that they deserve. 

According to Satawu’s statement, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) is attempting to facilitate a conciliatory intervention process between the involved parties. This is with the aim to break the deadlock and finding some kind of common ground between the unions and Transnet. Satawu cautions “the CCMA process will affect our protected industrial action”. 

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