16 April 2009
By Bonile Ngqiyaza

The nine-day truck drivers' strike is over and thousands of Satawu members are expected at work on Thursday.

This follows an agreement reached on Wednesday between the four trade unions in the road, freight and logistics industry and the employers' organisation, the Road Freight Employers' Association (RFEA).

South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union deputy president June Dube called the strike off just after lunch on Wednesday and hailed the agreement as a great victory for the union.

The parties had worked until the early hours of on Wednesday to thrash out issues.

In terms of the agreement, valid for two years, the parties have agreed that the minimum wage for ultra-heavy long-distance drivers would increase to R6 000 a month from R4 300, while general workers' salaries would rise to a minimum of R3 000 - up from R2 500.




Dube said 95 percent of Satawu members were in line to benefit. The parties also agreed to maternity leave provisions that would bring the industry into line with the provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

The agreement provided that during the period of maternity leave, women will be entitled to 33 percent of the basic wages and "this amount shall be paid by the employer weekly on the usual pay day".

Dube told workers gathered at Beyers Naude Square yesterday that the organisation had forced the employer to agree to 80 percent of the demands on the table.

However, he conceded that in terms of the danger allowance demand theirs was a partial victory.

"(But), there will now be a danger allowance in the road, freight and logistics industry," he said.

"We started these negotiations in August last year... You have won these demands by yourselves. Your power, your discipline won for you these demands," said Dube, to shouts and applause.

"The strike is now over. Those who can go back to work can start now and deliver petrol," he said.

RFEA spokesperson Magretia Brown said the sticking point had been Satawu's wish to negotiate on behalf of employees who fell outside the scope of the industry's bargaining council.

She said Satawu would have to prove they had sufficient representation to negotiate on behalf of those people before the RFEA would allow negotiations over these additional people's demands in 2011 during the next pay bargaining round.

Asked to comment on Satawu's claim that it had won concessions on 80 percent of the matters on the table, Brown said: "There's always a degree of compromise - that's the nature of negotiations."

Other parties involved included the Motor Transport Workers Union (MTWU), the Professional Transport Workers Union of South Africa (PTWU), the Transport and Allied Workers Union (Tawusa) - and the employer's organisation.

Some of the issues agreed to during the negotiations...

# There will be an incremental increase in minimum wages across all levels over a period of two years, starting this year and setting new minimum payments for the industry;

# An across-the-board increase, also incremental over two years, at 11 percent and 9.5 percent
respectively;

# A payment of 33 percent of the normal basic wage during maternity leave and full compliance with the provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act;

# An increase in subsistence, cross-border, night shift and sugar cane allowances;

# Parties to investigate various medical aid options;

# The extension of the bargaining unit to include all employees in operations, warehousing, fleet maintenance and administration, excluding management that may make decisions to recruit or discipline employees. This exclusion does not affect supervisors and controllers, regardless of whether or not they may make decisions to recruit or discipline.

http://www.iol.co.za/

Old news:
Immigration to go down in 2009: Evans 07/04/09
Fairer wages for foreign workers in Australia 01/04/09
March 2009