Truck drivers affiliated with the All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa have embarked on a stay away on Sunday morning.
They say no trucks will be moving across the country. They are protesting against the hiring of foreign nationals in the trucking industry.
They say that the operating of trucks is not a critical skill and want this job to be reserved for South Africans only.
The truckers are expected to march to the Bargaining council offices in Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg on Monday to deliver their memorandum.
The Forum’s General Secretary, Sifiso Nyathi says their call is not driven by xenophobia.
“Our issue, our grievance and our pain is that we need zero percent foreigners in the trucking industry. This is not xenophobic, it is the law which is working in all countries in SADC including South Africa. There are many companies which are fly by night which employ foreigners only. This is not a critical skill it is a normal skill and it belongs to South Africans. That is why today we are embarking on a stay away and we are not driving trucks,” says Nyathi.
“When you strike, you’re not allowed to disrupt others or disturb anyone: Zikalala
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala says that they are aware of the looming truck drivers’ strike this weekend. Several national and provincial routes are expected to be affected by the All Truck Drivers Forum (ATDF) and Allied South African that is embarking on a nationwide shutdown.
In video currently making rounds on social media, the forum has called for a nationwide shutdown. It has also made demands which include the immediate removal of all foreign national truck drivers from the freight industry. Zikalala says that people are allowed to strike but it should be within the law.
“When you strike, you’re not allowed to disrupt others or disturb anyone, and we expect that those who will be striking, if they are striking will also do the same. We have called on the minister of employment and labour, to tighten regulations and to issue publicly the list of skills that could be sourced outside South Africa. We are with them in that regard, but we think everything must be done according to the law,” says Zikalala.
