The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) will need to decide on the wage dispute between the United National Transport Union (UNTU) and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).

UNTU referred the wage dispute to the CCMA for conciliation today after members declined Prasa’s conditional 4,5% salary offer last week. UNTU members also demand increases in their medical aid allowance, night shift allowance, book off allowance and standby allowance.

The Union is awaiting a date from the CCMA when the conciliation will be heard.

If this dispute can’t be resolved and the CCMA issue a certificate of non-resolution, UNTU members across the country are prepared to embark on a protected legal strike.

“UNTU’s members is gatvol. They demand a double-digit salary increase from 1 April irrespective of the dire state of Prasa and the predictions of what wage increases should be due to the grim global economic forecast. Our members are angry. Over the past year, the management of the passenger rail services ignored their pleas.

“They were betrayed by their employer. After Prasa management signed a collective agreement that gave UNTU members better benefits in the workplace, the state-owned enterprise (SOE) refused to implement it. The result is that UNTU member bear the brunt because the Union had to apply to the Labour Court in Johannesburg for a court order to force Prasa to comply,” says Steve Harris, General Secretary of UNTU.

According to Harris the negotiation team of Prasa confirmed that they received UNTU’s notification of the dispute.

Issued by UNTU