An Easter Weekend Gift: Translux, City To City Finally Reach A Wage Agreement

Some routes may still experience problems as services return to operation.
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Commuters on July 1, 2015 in Pretoria, South Africa. Commuters were left stranded yesterday morning as bus operator Autopax failed to find drivers to operate on some major routes it has taken over from Putco.
Peter Mogaki/Sowetan/Gallo Images

Autopax, the operator of Translux and City to City, has confirmed it has signed a wage agreement which will effectively see its services operational on Friday.

Some routes may still experience problems as services return to operation.

Autopax spokesperson Ranti Mahlabana said after engaging with the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) employee representatives until late on Thursday night, it had agreed on an 8,5 percent increase.

Line managers were still in the process of contacting employees to inform them that they could return to work, but operations were on track to return to normal, he confirmed.

Workers in the passenger bus sector on Wednesday went on strike, demanding a 15 percent wage increase and better working conditions. Numsa said the intervention of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration had not addressed the union's grievances and it resolved to call a strike.

Autopax, which Mahlabana previously told News24 is not a member of employer associations involved in the bargaining council negotiations, had only been notified of the strike on Tuesday.

Mahlabana said Autopax is a non-party in the matter, as it is not a member of any employer associations involved.

Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi however said it had not yet signed any agreements.

"We only negotiate through the Bargaining Council, and we wish to reiterate that it is Numsa policy that only the General Secretary can sign agreements on behalf of the union," she said.

The union would on Friday meet with the Minister of Labour Mildred Oliphant as well as employers to try and resolve the dispute, Hlubi added.