Untu issues warning about possible Gautrain strike
The United National Transport Union (Untu) has warned a possible strike over wage hikes could disrupt Gautrain's services to passengers.
The union said the salary dispute with Bombela, the company that operates the Gautrain rail link, was now at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. Untu warned failure to resolve the matter on 11 July 2016 would result in strike action.
Untu general secretary Steve Harris on Monday said if the dispute between Bombela and Untu was not resolved "the lives of hundreds of thousands of passengers could be disrupted by a strike action."
Harris said the dispute related to the employees' unhappiness with a 3 percent wage increase during 2016/2017 salary negotiations. Untu demanded a 15 percent pay increase.
There was a deadlock in the negotiations, which the union said was also related to Bombela's arbitrary reversal of a policy regarding payment of overtime rates for operational staff.
Harris claimed that Bombela stopped paying overtime rates to employees in 2013, and as a result, had a salary backlog that was more than R20 million.
Harris said employees were struggling in the current financial climate and if Bombela continued to seek evasion of paying workers what was due to them, "the employees will have no choice but to go on strike in protest".
Officials from Bombela could not immediately be reached for comment. - ANA