Travel warning: Truck drivers threaten to shut down major routes in South Africa this weekend
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This stickers says Long Live The White Race in Spanish. Of course, most illegal aliens are illiterate, but the ones that can read will get the point.
[South Africa is strike country. The Blacks love to go on strikes for any reason whatsoever. Jan]
South African truck drivers plan to embark on a national shutdown on Sunday (30 April), which is expected to disrupt major transport routes – including the N3 between Johannesburg and Durban.
This is expected to strain the supply chain, which is already under pressure from the country’s failing rail network, as billions of rands of goods are transported via trucks across South Africa.
In an interview with SABC News, All Truck Drivers Forum (ATDF) and Allied South Africa’s deputy chairperson Mandla Mngomezulu said the national strike is a stand against the employment of foreign nationals – concerns that have fallen on deaf ears for years.
Mngomezulu said that this strike would affect the entire country – as it has 11,000 members across South Africa – and disruptions can be expected on all major transport routes throughout the supply chain.
He added that members have been instructed to remain peaceful during the shutdown but noted that “anything can happen if police interfere with their demonstrations”.
Despite the strike commencing on a Sunday, ATDF said the shutdown would be felt by the South African economy.
“Whether it is a weekend or not, the fact is trucks move goods across the country all the time, and therefore the impact of our action will be felt,” it said.
This strike comes as the ATDF has accused truck owners of overlooking local drivers and opting to employ foreign drivers, who offered cheap labour.
An inter-ministerial committee of various government departments, including Transport, Home Affairs and Labour and Employment, was set up in 2021 to look into the matter, but nothing has been done, said Mngomezulu.
The Forum said that its calls for the matter to be attended to by the government and truck owners have fallen on deaf ears for three years now, and they are fed up with it.
The Truckers Association of South Africa and the Road Freight Association (RFA) warn that the strike would be a massive blow to the country’s already battered economy.
“Shutdowns create long-term, negative consequences to the logistics supply chain and the economy. Jobs are lost. Revenue – both to companies and to employees – is lost. Tax revenue is lost. Business confidence is lost. International trade and investment is lost. Inevitably, opportunistic criminality and violence occur,” said RFA CEO Gavin Kelly.
Despite these concerns, Mngomezulu said nothing had been done to address South African truckers’ issues, and as of today (28 April), the strike is still expected to go ahead.
“The strike would demonstrate the power of the local drivers and serve as a warning that they should be taken seriously,” noted the ATDF.
Officials distance themselves
The National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry has distanced itself from the planned action, and says the groups it represents in negotiations with employers are not part of the strikes.
“(The council) has noted with concern the looming Road Freight Shutdown as widely circulated through social media platforms. In this regard, we would like to put it on record that the council and its parties distance themselves from the proposed Road Freight Shutdown planned for 30 April 2023.
“The council is mandated with regulating only trucking companies transporting goods for gain, or on behalf of a third-party. Employers who transport their own goods are excluded from council’s jurisdiction as stipulated in the Main Collective Agreement. Therefore, not all trucking companies fall under the scope of the council and are not required to register with it.
“The council is the recognised body where matters of mutual interest pertaining to the industry are discussed in a centralised bargaining forum by registered trade unions and employer organisations.
“Hence, the council would like to reiterate its position that any organisation that wishes to submit its industry demands and/or partake in the industry wage negotiations should first register with the Department of Employment and Labour as a trade union, then apply to the councill to be admitted as a Party to Council.
“ATDF is not registered as a trade union in terms of applicable labour laws and as such cannot make any demands on behalf of Industry employees.
“The council, together with its parties, have advised ATDF on numerous occasions to register with the Department of Employment & Labour as a trade union and thereafter be admitted as party to Council if they want to partake in the industry wage negotiations.
“However, ATDF has until now not acceded to that advice.
“Therefore, we are calling on our government to intervene decisively and prevent the growing trend of unrecognised organisations such as ATDF seeking to establish themselves as credible representatives of industry truck drivers, with the intention of destabilising the bargaining process by moving away from a recognised and legitimate centralised bargaining forum.”
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