The United National Transport Union (UNTU) call on all its various PRASA branches to hold special meetings with its members to get their mandate for the union’s wage demand.
Wage negotiations between UNTU and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) for the salary increase due 1 April 2017 will commence on 15 February. A very experienced negotiation team consisting of UNTU Executive Council Members and Deputy General-Secretaries will represent the union.
The following dates where set aside by the PRASA Bargaining Committee for wage negotiations:
- 15 to 16 February
- 22 to 23 February
- 07,08 and 09 March
- 21,22 and 23 March
Steve Harris, General Secretary of UNTU, says PRASA must not even think about bringing a below inflation salary offer to the negotiation table by pleading poverty.
“UNTU knowns PRASA’s financial affairs is in dire state after the passenger rail operator lost R14 billion due to irregular expenditure. Our members are not to blame for the fact that mismanagement lead to the state-owned enterprise allegedly barely having enough money to continue with its basic operational requirements,” Harris says.
“PRASA’s threats that it faces a total collapse of services if the situation does not drastically improve, will not cause UNTU to be derailed. If PRASA does not have the money, Government must bail it out like several other SOE’s have been bailed out more than once in the past,” says Harris.
According to Harris UNTU warned PRASA over the weekend that it cannot allege that it has no money when PRASA continues to create new positions in current structures where a duplicate of functions will be at the centre and where new disparities will arise. “PRASA’s lack of financial management is shocking.
UNTU already indicated that the union’s membership at PRASA has had enough of its empty promises and its non-compliance of collective agreements.
The union has asked the Labour Court in Johannesburg to order PRASA to implement the 19 points in a collective agreement that the passenger rail operator agreed to do by no later than September last year. UNTU is awaiting a date for the application to be heard.
For more information phone Harris on 082 566 5516.
Issued on behalf of UNTU by Sonja Carstens, Media and Liaison Officer. For UNTU Press Releases e-mail sonja@untu.co.za or phone 082 463 6806.
