The Road Freight Association has warned that some businesses might not recover from the impact of the current Transnet strike as the latest round of wage talks facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration reached a deadlock.
The United National Transport Union and the South African Workers Union have vowed to "intensify" the strike after they rejected Transnet latest offer.
The current proposal from the state-owned enterprise is:
* a 4.5% wage increase across the board in the current year, to be implemented from 1 October 2022;
* over the next two financial years, 2023/24 and 2024/25, a wage increase of 5.3%;
* a 4.5% increase in the medical aid allowance in 2022/23, to be adjusted in line with the across-the-board salary increase in the subsequent two years.
The backpay will be made in two tranches – three months’ backpay on 15 November 2022, and three months’ backpay on 16 January 2023.
The Road Freight Association said transporters would not be able to survive another prolonged break in revenue generation.
"Some transporters will simply call it a day and close down. The constantly increasing risks and costs of running a transport operation have become impossible for some to manage.
“Others are looking at either moving their business or their port of choice to neighbouring countries," said Gavin Kelly, the association’s CEO.
The SA Transport and Allied Workers Union said only a wage increase in line with the current 7.6 % inflation rate would be palatable to the striking workers.
The union’s general secretary, Jack Mazibuko, said that, following the breakdown of the talks, the parties would now await guidance from the CCMA on the way forward.
Mazibuko said the workers also rejected a revised medical aid allowance from 1% to 4.5%, as it amounted to R72.
"The workers are also not happy about the company's reluctance to an agreement which would not allow for retrenchments for three years. All the demands are tied to a three-year period to help the company stabilise itself while trying to resolve its challenges.“
Transnet spokesperson Ayanda Shezi said that, while the parties had not reached a settlement, engagements were ongoing.