A strike by South African ports and freight-rail workers entered a sixth day on Tuesday as talks to end the labour action that is curbing mineral exports remained at an impasse.
Officials from state-owned Transnet met representatives of labour unions on Monday and they agreed on picketing rules for the strike that began Oct. 6. Labour minister Thulas Nxesi said the negotiations, which are being facilitated by the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, are deadlocked, Johannesburg-based newspaper Business Day reported.
Workers represented by unions including the United National Transport Union and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union halted work to demand Transnet raise its wage offer of as much as 4%. Employees are demanding increases of 13.5%, which compares with annual inflation of 7.6%.Transnet, which operates the nation’s industrial harbors, freight-rail network and fuel pipelines, has declared force majeure on shipments because of the labour action.
Besides a lack of energy security, a weak business climate, logistical constraints and a sub-optimal freight-rail network have been identified by the South African cabinet as impediments to economic growth. Protests along major arterial routes and damage to infrastructure have also made the nation’s transport network unreliable, Human Settlements minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said in August.
The strike is also testing the government’s resolve to rein in state wages. The remuneration of South African state employees accounts for almost a third of total state spending and keeping it in check is key to the National Treasury’s plans to reduce its budget deficit and bring runaway state debt under control.
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