Port workers to join truck drivers’ strike

Durban - Durban Harbour could be crippled next week if plans for a strike by a union go ahead. But Transnet said on Tuesday that it had measures in place to negate the effects of a stayaway.

The SA Transport and Allied Workers Union said it was joining the nationwide transport strike.

Spokesman Vincent Masoga said “the aim of the strike is to ensure there is no movements of goods at all in Durban harbour”.

Workers hoped to exert pressure on employers to submit to their wage demands.

Masoga said Satawu had more than 20 000 members who worked for Transnet harbour and freight terminals.

These members had no demands of their own, but they would be staying away in a show of support for striking truck drivers.

Transnet said that it had received the notice of intention from Satawu, and that the strike would take place from next Tuesday.

Workers would down tools at Transnet Freight Rail for one day and at the Transnet Port Terminals for three days.

Mboniso Sigonyela of Transnet said: “We have contingency plans in place to ensure minimal disruptions should the action materialise.

“These are plans we have in place continuously, in case of unforeseen circumstances.”

Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew Layman had his doubts about the Transnet’s contingency plans.

He said he was glad to hear that it had taken steps to mitigate the effect of the workers’ striking, but he was not convinced that the plans would work.

“Transnet is highly unionised and there will be a lot of pressure from Satawu to ensure the contingency plans are not implemented,” he said.

This industrial action, combined with the truckers’ and other wildcat strikes, was not good news for the economy.

“The impact of the strike will be severe – beyond the point it is at the moment. Whereas we might only have a minority of goods being transported at the moment, there would be no goods transported at all,” he said.

The impact would not only be on local consumers. International investors and companies would lose confidence in SA as a place to do business.

“Global business… will simply cancel orders.

“For the consumer it is a matter of irritation and frustration if they can’t find what they are looking for on the shelf, but for businesses it is a matter of bottom line.”

The loss of confidence has had a negative impact on the country’s image, with the rand exchange rate becoming the latest victim of investor withdrawal.

On Tuesday, the rand traded near three-year lows against the US dollar at R8.90.

Salvatori Sarno of the Mediterranean Shipping Company SA echoed Layman’s sentiments, saying it would be a “disaster” if the Transnet strike went ahead.

“One day of strike is unacceptable,” he said. - The Mercury