March 31, 2003
By Thomas Thale
As the strike by Metrobus drivers enters its fourth week, Metrobus management on Monday issued a statement calling on workers to return to work by Thursday.
The statement also expressed concern over the duration of the strike and its negative impact on commuters.
Various meetings called to settle the protracted strike have ended in deadlock. In the statement, Metrobus accuses the unions of tabling "impractical" proposals during negotiations.
Metrobus drivers heeded a call made jointly by the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (IMATU), two unions which represent the bulk of workers in the city, to down tools in protest against a newly introduced shift system.
The strike has now cost the company an estimated R6-million in lost revenue. The drivers on the other hand, have already lost a month's salary, but the strike looks set to continue indefinitely.
Metrobus blames the impasse on the refusal by the unions to shift from their original demands. "The unions do not have viable solutions to the dispute," the statement charged.
Metrobus has offered to increase the spreadover allowance by 100% per day, to reduce working hours from 42 to 40 hours per week, to establish a committee jointly with the unions to review the shift system and to "embark on a relationship building exercise".
Ephraim Thavhakuhlu, spokesman for SAMWU dismissed these allegations, and accused management of being intransigent. "We have put compromise proposal to management, but they have all been rejected," he said. "We proposed that drivers could work 10 hour shifts and take a 2 and a half hour break during off-peak hours. In the meantime, the company could use shifts which were in place before 9 December to give management time to prepare for the new shifts. If they do that, workers will go back to work."
