Passengers wait for the train to come to a standstill on the platform at the Rosebank Gautrain. Picture: Karen Sandison, African News Agency(ANA).
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) announced that it secured an above-inflation wage increase of 8% across the board for all workers at Gautrain.
In a statement, the union said currently the Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) is at 6.3%.
The Gautrain is South Africa's first high-speed railway system linking major hubs in and around Johannesburg and Pretoria. The train, which travels at speeds of up to 160km/h, transports about 40,000 passengers per day. The Gautrain bus transports about 12,000 passengers daily.
“The union has been engaged in wage talks with Gautrain management since April this year, and we deadlocked in June. Our members balloted for a strike on Friday, but fortunately, management requested a meeting over the weekend and made an offer to settle this round of wage talks,” it said.
According to the union, the wage agreement is broken down as follows: An 8% wage increase across the board; housing allowance has been increased by 10% to R1210; transport allowance increased by 5% to R105; the KPI bonus will increase by R500 to R9000; night shift allowance is R35 per hour; and the Gautrain staff card will remain in place and no worker will have to pay to travel to use the Gautrain to and from work.
The union said the agreement is a one-year agreement valid from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024
Numsa said it welcomed the agreement because it resolves the burning issues which sparked the dispute with the employer.
“We secured an above-inflation increase of 8% at a time when most employers are not granting any increases, and, we secured a double-digit percent increase on housing allowance.
“Initially, the employer wanted to abolish the housing allowance but we managed to retain and increase it. We also managed to persuade the employer to reinstate the staff cards for all employees. This is a positive development, because our members would have been forced to pay to use the Gautrain when travelling to and from work, and this issue almost made workers resort to strike action,” the union said.
Numsa said it would not have been able to secure this without the unity of workers and their courage to defend and fight for their gains and to improve their conditions.
“It is the unity of workers that shifted Gautrain’s management and compelled them to make the necessary compromises. We call on all Numsa members and all workers at Gautrain to remain united as workers because that is the only guarantee that will secure even better wages and benefits in the next round of negotiations,” it said.
Gautrain spokesperson Kesagee Nayager said: “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Numsa that is mutually beneficial for both employees and the company.
“As the Bombela Operating Company, we are cognisant of high transport costs and the impact it has on employees and therefore, in consultation with our stakeholders, agreed to provide our employees with the benefit of travelling to and from work free of charge.”
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