JOHANNESBURG - Gauteng police said on Thursday they will continue to monitor the truck driver’s strike until the wage dispute is resolved.

No arrests had been made following the stoning of rigs driven by non-striking truck drivers over the past two days.

On Wednesday, police said five cases of malicious damage to property had been opened following several reports of violence and the torching of trucks in the Johannesburg CBD and on the East Rand.

Police spokesperson Katlego Mogale said police were on alert and will be “out in their numbers” across affected areas in the province.

NEGOTIATIONS

It appears striking truck drivers and the Road Freight Employers Association (RFEA) will not be discussing wages on Thursday, after both sides walked away from the negotiating table without agreement earlier this week.

Spokesperson for the RFEA, Magretia Brown-Engelbrecht, said, “At this stage, no further talks have been scheduled.

“We’re hoping that the unions will come with a realistic demand, so we can start talks again. At this point in time, it is absolutely not a possibility."

Strikers seized operations on Monday.

Employers have now called on the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) to return with a more reasonable offer, as they say double digit increases will be financially impossible.

Unions however said they were waiting to be called back to the negotiating table.

CAPE TOWN

The City of Cape Town reported that one of its MyCiTi buses was stoned in a protest.

Officials believe striking truck drivers were behind the attack.

The bus was en route from the Cape Town CBD to the Cape Town International airport at the time.

Two trucks were also set alight in Nyanga on Wednesday.

The City's Richard Bosman said, “The MyCiTi bus was stoned on the way to the airport and we believe it was striking Satawu workers. There were no injuries as it was just the front windscreen of the bus that was damaged.”

(Edited by Thato Motaung)