With the bus drivers strike set to continue, commuters will again have to make alternative arrangements as the long weekend wraps up.
Talks between employers and unions broke down again last week. An intervention by CCMA and government yielded no settlement.
Bus drivers have been given an ultimatum to accept the revised offer 8% by Wednesday. This as all drivers are feeling the pinch of the work stoppage deep in their pockets.
It’s been three weeks since Jacob Mokone last reported for duty. Work on his house has come to a standstill. He can’t afford to pay his builders for renovations.
The 49 year old father of four says the prolonged strike is now starting to deflate his pocket..
“We are battling to pay out debts because when we get paid…debit orders just take their money and with the little that’s left we can’t even feed our families because the money is too little, said Mokone.
Mokone is among 16 thousand bus drivers who downed tools demanding a 12% increase. The no work no pay policy is now hitting home.
Mokone says whilst they feel for stranded commuters, they believe their course is a just one.
“The money is not enough for the family I have to pay for children at school my wife is not working. I am the bread winner. As bus drivers, we family we are I equal suffering that’s why we say enough is enough,”
Bus drivers unions have now revised their offer to 9,5% for the first year and 8,5 % the following year.
However, employers are not budging and they are sticking to their 8 % final offer.
Despite all the challenges Mokone and his colleagues are facing due to the strike. They are adamant that going behind the wheel will be the last thing on their minds for now.
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