Members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) working for the Gautrain will be on strike at the Gautrain on Monday. The picket will be a demonstration of their demands, and the indefinite strike will last until the Bombela Operating Company (BOC) engages the union members meaningfully regarding their demands.
Among some of their concerns is that the BOC refuses to negotiate wages with them, they are simply imposing a 4% increase on our members, without engaging or negotiating with them.
“We are demanding an 8 per cent increase in order to cushion the lowest paid worker who earns approximately R8500 per month.”
“We condemn attempts by the BOC to intimidate our members into backing down from the strike and backing down on their demands. They have been sending out letters to employees, trying to encourage them to resign from NUMSA in an effort to block the strike. We condemn these cowardly attempts with the contempt they deserve,” said NUMSA spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola
She added that the management of Gautrain still has an opportunity to engage them, but they are refusing. Instead they would rather jeopardize the livelihoods of thousands of commuters by provoking our members to strike, and refusing to sit around the table to negotiate.
