Transnet on edge for strike action as majority union refuses to back down on wage demands

IOL News

21-04-2025

State-owned logistics firm Transnet remains under threat of a massive industrial action as wage negotiations with the trade union representing more than 20 000 workers have deadlock in spite of intervention by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
The United National Transport Union (UNTU) said on Friday that it was currently conducting a balloting process to get consensus on industrial action, which could cripple the importation and exportation of goods and damage economic activity.
Transnet is the largest and most crucial part of the freight logistics chain that delivers goods through its ports, pipelines, rail, and freight divisions.
The union has rejected Transnet's final 2025/26 wage offer of 6%, 6% and 5.5% and indicated it would not seek additional mandate from its members while the minority union has accepted the offer.
UNTU's revised wage demand has remained unchanged and is calling for a 10% across the board increase and a non-retrenchment clause for the duration of the three-year agreement.
Cobus van Vuuren, UNTU's general secretary, said that Transnet has once again shown unwillingness and no interest in the resolution of the wage deadlock, which could see industrial action by their members.
'Since UNTU declared a dispute of mutual interest following the deadlock in the negotiations, we indicated that we remain open to section 150 intervention facilitated by the CCMA to try to resolve the impasse, with the understanding that this would be in the public interest and the severe impact a strike would have on Transnet, employees, and the broader South African economy,' he said.
A section 150 intervention is processed by the CCMA upon request thereof by any party to a dispute if the director of the CCMA believes that it would be in the public interest to appoint a Commissioner to attempt to resolve the dispute through further conciliation.
If the parties to the dispute agree in terms of Section 150(5) of the Labour Relations Act, the appointment of a Commissioner will suspend any entitlement of the employees to strike that they may have acquired through an issued certificate.
In such a case, the dispute will return to the CCMA in the form of a conciliation and both parties will have a fair and equal opportunity to make submissions and negotiate a deal if it is at all possible.
Van Vuuren said UNTU was open to this section 150 facilitation process by the CCMA on an urgent basis. He said the CCMA communicated on Thursday, 17 April 2025, appealing to both parties to agree to this process.
'UNTU expresses great concern in terms of Transnet's non-committal response to this process by responding as quoted: 'We acknowledge receipt of the letter.''
Van Vuuren said they placed on record that section 150 Clause 5 stated that unless the parties to the dispute agreed otherwise, the appointment of a Commissioner did not affect any entitlement of an employee to strike.
'UNTU's process in terms of the balloting process to obtain a mandate from our members regarding protected industrial action will thus not be put in abeyance, and neither will the section 150 process prevent UNTU members from exercising their right in terms of section 64 of the Labour Relations Act, pending the outcome of our balloting process,' he said.
Van Vuuren said Transnet approached this week's conciliation process in bad faith, treating it as nothing more than a tick-box exercise with no genuine commitment to meaningful engagement and commitment to find an amicable solution to the impasse.
'We have tabled several reasonable proposals aimed at promoting labour stability; Transnet refused to consider these proposals,' he said.
'We still maintain that the Transnet mandators, the government, and the broader business sector would be dismayed at Transnet's refusal to reach an amicable agreement to break the impasse.'