Satawu vows to fight dismissal of striking Putco workers
The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) says it will make representations to bus service operator Putco on the looming dismissal of 1000 striking workers.
Putco has given its workers until 5pm on Wednesday to explain why they should not be fired for participating in an illegal strike.
Workers downed tools at the company last week, demanding the payment of salary bonuses dating back to 2020.
The striking workers have been preventing buses from leaving the depots in Soweto, Pretoria, and Mpumalanga.
Satawu national convener Alfred Buboko says they also in talks with other trade unions on ways to avert the dismissals.
"We are concerned about the looming dismissal because if more than 1000 employees lose their jobs in this difficult time it will be a problem, this was started by a group of employees who called 'concerned workers'. So we had to intervene because we know the consequences of embarking on an unprotected strike, we cannot just allow our members to lose their jobs.”
Meanwhile, Putco has refused to pay the bonuses due to the fact that the matter is before the Labour Court.
Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu says none of the striking workers have returned to work.
"Workers are continuing with the strike, blocking workers who are not on strike from accessing our depots, nonetheless the intention to dismiss is still out there, we hope workers understand that after this there will be termination letters to employees who are striking after the review from some of the representations that we might recieve."
The strike has left more than 150 000 commuters in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo stranded.
ALSO READ:
