DURBAN: THE All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied SA (ATDF ASA) confirmed yesterday that the national truck strike had been put on hold.
Several key routes were blocked in Gauteng on Sunday while trucks were also stopped in KwaZulu-Natal at the weekend.
ATDF ASA secretary Sifiso Nyathi said the association was set to meet the Department of Employment and Labour this week, after which they would study the government's proposed bill.
On Monday on its website, the department published a gazette on the National Labour Migration Policy. It concerns the employment of foreign nationals.
The issue of foreign drivers being employed in the freight sector has been one of the ATDF ASA’s major gripes. The group is demanding that foreign truck drivers be removed from the industry.
“We will be having a meeting where we will be engaging with the Department of Labour this week… The national shutdown that was planned for this week has been put on hold. We will also be studying the proposed bill by the government and from there, we will decide on a way forward,” Nyathi said.
He said that if the group was dissatisfied with how the matter was being handled, it would go to court or, as a last resort, embark on a national shutdown.
Nyathi said the government needed to put South African citizens first.
“We don’t want foreign truck drivers. We believe that charity starts at home, and that means creating employment for local truck drivers and taking care of South African citizens.”
THE MERCURY