UNTU refuses to back down from fight for higher Transnet wages

JOHANNESBURG - The United National Transport Union (UNTU) has refused to back down from its fight for higher wages at Transnet after negotiations deadlocked this week.  

The port and rail operator offered a multi-year wage deal including a cumulative 17.5% wage increase across the board over the course of three financial years.  

But UNTU hit back at Transnet, accusing the company of negotiating in bad faith.  

ALSO READ: Two Transnet unions at odds after wage negotiations round

The union, which represents more than half of the workers at Transnet, believes accepting the offer would be financial suicide.  

The agreement that union UNTU refuses to sign has already been adopted by its rival union, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU).  

But UNTU said it wants a single-year agreement from the beginning of April. 

The union’s revised wage demands include a 10% wage increase across the board and a non-retrenchment clause for the duration of the agreement.  

The union also wants the housing allowance and medical aid allowance to increase to R2,500.  

“UNTU respects the decision by SATAWU but remains puzzled by their decision, especially considering that they were not signatories to the wage agreement in 2022, and we were severely criticised and called sell-outs during 2022. Strangely enough, the wage increase offer that SATAWU has signed today is a mirror image of the 2022 wage agreement,” said UNTU spokesperson Atenkosi Plaatjie.  

UNTU is now set to declare a dispute at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).