Cape Town - Eastern Cape police say the attack on a Transnet bus by four men wearing balaclavas in New Brighton on Thursday could be linked to the ongoing strike over wages.
Police spokesperson Priscilla Naidu said the bus was collecting employees at about 5.50am in Railwayflats when it came under attack.
She said the suspects flanked the bus as it was about to enter the premises before they opened fire.
“One female was injured on the foot. When the driver drove into the premises, the suspects ran away. There were 10 people (including the driver) in the bus at the time. No other injuries. It is suspected that the incident is linked to the current Transnet strike.
Allegations are that two permanent employees were in the bus going to work and they were meant to be on strike – only the casual staff were allowed to go to work,” she said.
Naidu said police were investigating a case of attempted murder and malicious injury to property.
Meanwhile it’s back to the drawing board as striking union bodies, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, (Satawu) and the United National Transport Union (Untu) were forging ahead with their strike against Transnet, after rejecting the tabled three-year wage offer, maintaining their demand for a 12% wage increase.
Transnet confirmed it had tabled the offer to the unions following two days of negotiations facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
Satawu said in a statement it would intensify the strike and was “disgusted and annoyed” by the port authority’s offer.
Transnet said: “The negotiations have been a delicate balancing act for the company – mindful not only of the affordability and sustainability of the wage increases for the business, but also having full appreciation of the cost pressures that employees face currently.
“The wage offer...entails the following: a 4.5% across-the board (ATB) increase in the current year, which will be implemented from 1 October 2022, a 5.3% (ATB) increase in 2023/24 (and a) 5.3% (ATB) increase in 2024/25.”
Satawu’s general secretary, Jack Mazibuko, said Transnet was “mocking us and our members.
“The employer knows very well that inflation in this country is 7.6%”.”
Untu’s general secretary, Cobus van Vuuren, said the tabled offer was “ridiculous” and that Transnet just “juggled the numbers to make the offer look different, but “quite frankly it looks worse at face value”.
Cape Times