NUMSA threatens to take Putco to court after talks over suspended drivers collapse
More than 100 bus drivers were suspended for participating in an unprotected strike in 2022 and NUMSA said they didn’t find common ground during talks on Tuesday.
Putco buses at a depot. Picture: Facebook/Putco
JOHANNESBURG - The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has threatened to take bus company Putco to the Labour Court after talks over the treatment of suspended drivers collapsed.
A tug of war between the union and the bus operator is intensifying as NUMSA said the livelihoods of employees are on the line.
The union is accusing Putco of mistreating its suspended workers.
More than 100 bus drivers were suspended for participating in an unprotected strike in 2022.
NUMSA spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said they didn’t find common ground during talks on Tuesday.
“Putco wants to dictate to us on how to defend workers. Putco has demanded that we guarantee that the CCMA arbitration hearings are conducted and concluded by the 5th of April 2024, or else, workers will not be paid their salaries whilst on suspension.
“The union cannot agree to this because there are at least 120 workers who must be defended. It is clear that Putco is attempting to sabotage our cases with this demand. If we were to adhere to this, dozens of workers would lose their jobs, because we would have failed to defend them adequately,” she said.
Meanwhile, Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu has denied treating workers unfairly.
“Putco stated that suspensions were due to gross misconduct by the employees and that the company could not reinstate or uplift their suspensions without following due process currently under way at the CCMA [Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration]. Putco is of the view that NUMSA is suggesting that the hearings could be concluded by November 2024 is unreasonable.”