Durban - Trade union federation Cosatu and its affiliate, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), have postponed a planned nationwide strike today as they continue to engage with the Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan over their concerns about the privatisation of Transnet.
Last week Satawu said it had planned to hold marches in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape, and at other Transnet depots, with the main march taking place in Durban.
Gordhan and the unions started engagements on Monday which were aimed at averting a strike at the beleaguered state-owned enterprise (SOE).
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement on Wednesday, described the state entity as “inefficient and uncompetitive”, with Treasury documents revealing that the indebted SOE’s efficiencies have cost over R400 billion.
Earlier this week, Gordhan told Parliament that the increase in Transnet’s debt related to capital investment in infrastructure and rolling stock procurement, which was mired in corruption and state capture.
Business and labour have raised ongoing concerns about the viability of the entity and its drain on the fiscus, with Transnet recently reporting a loss of R5.7bn in 2022-23.
Cosatu spokesperson Matthew Parks yesterday said they were opposed to privatisation if it was going to lead to restructuring and job losses.
“We want Transnet fixed but not at the expense of workers losing their jobs. Transnet is in a crisis on the revenue front and the blame is at their door; there is a shortfall in the mining industry and at least half of that is due to their inefficiency.”
Parks said the union was hoping the new leadership at the entity “can bring in the competence required” as quickly as possible.
The Department of Public Enterprises this week said it has been having meetings with unions at Transnet to understand their challenges and provide clarification on certain issues.
“The parties have agreed on a process whereby there will be complete transparency between unions and Transnet. And this has set a foundation for constructive engagement going forward. Transnet has also confirmed that there will be no job losses from the process involving the introduction of a private partner for the Durban Container Terminal Pier 2.”