Strikers burn two trucks in Cape Town

2012-09-26 18:34

Johannesburg - Striking drivers set two trucks alight on Wednesday in Nyanga, Cape Town police said.

"Two trucks have been burnt. One was a municipal truck and the other was delivering medicine," said Captain FC van Wyk.

Police and other law enforcement agencies were on the scene after strikers dispersed.

"Everything is quiet," said Van Wyk.

The pay strike by more than 20 000 workers in the freight transport sector continued on Wednesday. Unions reverted to a 12% pay demand after rejecting a lower offer by employers on Tuesday.

Road Freight Employers' Association (RFEA) spokesperson Magretia Brown-Engelbrecht said the situation had not changed since Wednesday morning, with no further meetings scheduled between unions and employers at this stage.

On Tuesday, workers rejected the RFEA's proposal of a staggered increase of 8.5% effective from March, and a further 0.5% from September next year.

The RFEA represents the labour interests of about 650 companies, from small operations to vast regional companies.

Deadlock

Workers in the sector embarked on a protected strike on Monday after wage negotiations deadlocked.

The four unions representing workers were the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), the Professional Transport and Allied Workers' Union SA (PTAWUSA), the Transport and Allied Workers' Union of SA (TAWU) and the Motor Transport Workers' Union (MTWU).

Earlier on Wednesday, Satawu spokesperson Vincent Masoga said the union would step up the strike in the road freight transport sector in a bid to get the employers to the negotiating table.

"All parties have reached a deadlock and none of them are participating in any talks at the moment," said Masoga in a statement.

"We will use this opportunity to mobilise all our members and encourage them to unite in a clear purpose of putting as much pressure as possible for the employers to revert back to the negotiations table."

Masoga said the union intended to "ignite" other strikes in the maritime and freight rail industries, in solidarity with the current strike, to ensure no goods were moved until the road freight workers' demands were met.

He said Satawu remained confident that their marches would be peaceful.

- SAPA