Johannesburg - The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has threatened to down tools after wage negotiations with Gautrain management deadlocked over the continuation of staff cards for Gautrain workers.
On Monday, the union said no progress had been made with the scheduled three-day wage negotiations between them and the Gautrain management, who are part of the Bombela Operating Company responsible.
The union is demanding an 8% increase across the board, a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) bonus of R15 000, a housing allowance increase to R1750, a transport allowance increase to R125 from R100, and no retrenchment for the period of the agreement, among other increases.
Union general secretary, Irvin Jim, said the dispute was due to the company seeking to abolish staff cards, which allowed workers to use the Gautrain for free when travelling to and from work.
“This benefit has been in place since 2013, and workers were allowed to use the train without paying. The decision to abolish the staff cards is outrageous because our members cannot afford to pay to use the Gautrain because it is really expensive, hence the need for staff cards.
“We condemn the decision to terminate the staff cards in the strongest terms. There is no rationale for refusing workers the right to use the trains for free because the train is their tool of work,” he said.
In addition to the uproar over the staff cards, Jim said the company also tabled abolishing the housing allowance and proposed that it be built into the workers’ wages, which their members rejected.
“We have requested a meeting with management on the 28th, and we hope to avert strike action. We would rather negotiate than strike, and we urge them to come back to the negotiating table so we can resolve this dispute. Failure to do so means that, unfortunately, strike action is inevitable.”
For its part, Gautrain spokesperson Kesagee Nayager confirmed that no agreement had been reached with the union and that the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) had issued a certificate of non-resolution as a result.
Nayager said the company and the union had agreed upfront to have three wage negotiation sittings. However, they abandoned the negotiations after the second sitting.
She added that the third sitting had since been agreed for tomorrow and that despite the deadlock, the company remained committed to engaging with the union in good faith to find an amicable solution to the impasse.
Nayager explained that even though Numsa had, in principle, agreed to a number of increases, they were shocked by some of the contradictory statements issued by the union, especially that of them (Gautrain management) seeking to “abolish the housing allowance”.
The offer tabled by the company included a wage increase of 8%, a night shift allowance of R33, a night work transport subsidy of R105, R1100 for housing allowance, and a KPI bonus of R9000.
With regards to the staff cards enabling workers to use the trains for free, Nayager stressed that the decision to terminate the cards affected a few employees and had no impact on operational employees who used the trains as part of their duties.
“Numsa is demanding free travel on the Gautrain for workers to and from home. The company can confirm that this demand relates to less than 10 employees based at the depot and has no impact on operational employees who conduct their duties at stations and on trains.
“The company remains open and willing to engage further with Numsa to reach an amicable agreement.”
The Star