A Metrobus strike is on the cards for Monday, a move that will affect thousands of Johannesburg commuters.
The Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (Demawusa) members will stage a picket at Gandhi Square in Johannesburg from 10am Monday morning. This comes after both the union and the employer deadlocked during salary negotiations last week.
The union has demanded a salary increase of 18 percent.
However, Metrobus previously said they were unable to meet that demand. The unions have also raised concerns relating to salary disparities and unfair dismissals.
They say they will not back down until their demands are met. The service covers over 300 scheduled routes including 128 school routes in Johannesburg.
It’s estimated that at least 30 000 commuters use the service daily
Demawusa spokesperson Dion Makhura said on Monday last week that the strike is due to a number of grievances including wage disparities.
“There are new people who have been appointed. You find that there are people who have been working there they have experience, they have qualifications. This person comes now … his salary is above old people [employees] by around R7 000 to R8 000.”
“We demand all salary disparities be adjusted. Those other [employees] who are not earning higher salaries have to be adjusted to the new salaries,” says Makhura.
