All three Metrobus terminals in Johannesburg are still closed as a result of a deadlock in salary negotiations. Workers are demanding an 18% salary increase.
It is still unclear when the strike will end.
“All three depots servicing the north, south and east of Johannesburg totalling just over 400 are not operating. So all of them are affecting about 36 000 commuters daily. So it is a huge number. We just want to urge our commuters to continue finding alternate arrangements because we don’t know when this strike will end but we are trying to do everything possible to end this strike,” says Metrobus spokesperson, Goodwill Shiburi.
Demawusa stands firm on its demands:
Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (Demawusa) says the value of the salary of workers has diminished over the years.
“That’s our opening figure. It encapsulates the loss that have been incurred by workers from 4-5 years. But all these matters are negotiable”, says Demawusa’s Secretary General, Stephen Faulkner who maintains that their demands are reasonable.
Faulkner also calls on Metro bus to reimburse commuters who had already bought their tickets.
” It’ s not as if Metrobus was not alerted to the the strike, they were well in advance but they allowed commuters to buy future tickets. They have to fully reimburse commuters.
Video: Demawusa explains where they stand with Metrobus
Video: Drivers go on strike over salaries
