Bus strike will intensify‚ unions warn

The national bus strike will continue as unions have vowed to intensify the protest.

“Unions collectively call on all members in the bus-passenger sector to intensify until such time that employers make an offer that can settle the strike‚” South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) passenger bus national coordinator Solomon Mahlangu said on Friday.

Satawu‚ National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa)‚ Transport and Omnibus Workers Union (Towu)‚ Transport and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (Tawusa) and the Tirisano Transport and Services Workers Union announced their decision to continue with the strike at media conference in Johannesburg on Friday afternoon.

It followed after negotiations with employers‚ mediated by the Commission for Conciliation‚ Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA)‚ broke down earlier in the day.

The national bus strike started on Wednesday and has left commuters across the country stranded. The strike followed after wage negotiations in the industry deadlocked last month.

Wage negotiations between South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council (SARPBAC)‚ the Commuter Bus Employers Organisation and SA Bus Employers Association started in January this year.

This is a developing story.