Transport Minister Blade Nzimande says the protest action by truck drivers that closed Van Reenen’s Pass earlier this week, is totally unacceptable. Nzimande made the remarks as truck drivers continue to speak out, demanding more jobs for South African truck drivers and not for foreign nationals.
Traffic came to a standstill on the N3 between Harrismith and the Tugela Toll Plaza towards Ladysmith on Wednesday morning as drivers shut down their trucks.
Truck driver 29-year-old Ngcebo Ndlovu says he wants companies to hire South Africans over foreign nationals. Ndlovu, from Eshowe, was among the protesting drivers on the N3 at Van Reenen’s Pass.
Ndlovu says companies prefer to hire foreign nationals. “We just want employment, for all companies to employ South African drivers, no foreigners because there are companies who say if you are a South African we don’t hire you at all. If you ask for some reason they say they (foreign national) are the cheap labour, they don’t fight for their rights and can work thirty days, 24 hours a day.”
Ndlovu is currently unemployed and says he finds it difficult to find full time employment as a truck driver. “I’m looking for a job; I have seven children to support. At my age I’m supposed to have my own home, but I can’t afford one. I can’t get a job. It’s difficult for me to get a job.”
Sixty-four truck drivers have been arrested for their part in the protest action. Nzimande spoke out strongly against the action to bring the N3 to a halt.
He says they will also clamp down on truck owners. “What the drivers did at Van Reenens is completely unacceptable. No matter how angry you are you can’t block the road. If you block the N3 you are shutting down a large part of South Africa’s economy. The N3 between Durban and Joburg is our busiest highway that’s why we arrested those drivers but we are not only just going to focus on the drivers. We have impounded the trucks and the owners must come themselves. We are also going to be charging them.”
Nzimande says there are structures in place to deal with these kinds of challenges. “There is a bargaining council that deals with matters affecting trucks, truck owners and drivers. We want that bargaining council to be the place where there is engagement. As a minister I am more than happy to be approached, to be engaged but I won’t allow for a gun to be put to my head by people who illegally block the highways.”
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Willies Mchunu is expected to meet with the drivers to hear their story. Commercial manager for the N3 Toll concession, Con Roux has confirmed that while the route is now fully operational, truck traffic volumes are currently high due to the backlog from the protest action.
