The Gautrain trip from the Marlboro Station to OR Tambo International Airport takes seven minutes. Photo: Cara Viereckl The Gautrain trip from the Marlboro Station to OR Tambo International Airport takes seven minutes. Photo: Cara Viereckl
More than 200 Gautrain feeder and distributor bus drivers are threatening to strike over alleged poor working conditions and unfair labour practices.
The workers employed by Mega Express – a company contracted to run feeder and distributor services for the Gautrain in a 15-year concession – want their working conditions improved. These include the demand that they be paid overtime in terms of labour laws for work done between 6pm and 5am.
The workers also claim the company failed to provide proof of the transfer of their unemployment insurance fund (UIF) contributions and or statements for their provident fund.
Robert Seroka, a union organiser for the Gautrain bus drivers, said some workers had been shocked to discover that no contributions had been made under their names from Mega Express with the Labour Department.
“The company continues to deduct these contributions from the employees from month to month but when we asked why it was not registering with the Labour Department they first claimed it would be transferred annually,” he said. “What was shocking was to discover that Mega Express didn’t even exist in the records of the Labour Department.”
One of the Gautrain bus drivers, who wished not to be identified for fear of victimisation, told the Saturday Star that he was paid R5 an hour to start work at 3am. His earnings per month totalled R5 562.57. His salary slip showed deductions, including for his provident fund, at R416.44 and UIF contributions of R55.63 a month.
But according to Mega Express human resources manager Grant Fleetwood, the company was more than willing to prove to the workers that their contributions for UIF had been sent to the Department of Labour.
“From our side we are paying the contributions in terms of legislation,” he said. “We have had a meeting with the workers and we have told them that we are a member of the employer association which means their working conditions and salaries are determined by the bargaining council.”
The workers claimed too that they were forced to swap uniforms after shifts but Fleetwood dismissed this as “utter rubbish”. He said the company would be meeting with the union representing the workers next week to iron out the issues.
Seroka said the workers would be asking the company to produce a mandatory agreement between Bombela – the Gautrain parent company and Mega Express to see what incentives the workers could reap.
“It’s our view that in the absence of this agreement, these unscrupulous employers could be ripping the workers off,” he added. “Gautrain is a government-funded project, thus the working conditions of these workers should be aligned to those who fall under the SA Local Government Association.” - Saturday Star