Motor manufacturers reported some production disruption caused by the transport sector strike but had not been affected so far by plans by striking SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) members to shut the country’s ports through a secondary strike.
Leo Kok at Toyota South Africa Motors said there was an extremely good worker turnout at its plant in Durban on Friday following the resolution to strike on Thursday. It was operating at full production and where possible, had continued to accept deliveries from suppliers. There had been no notification of port-related problems.
Denise van Huyssteen of General Motors South Africa confirmed it had rescheduled some of its production to a later date to ensure the company was on track to achieve its full-year production volume targets. Service from the Port Elizabeth port was normal.
Rella Bernardes, a Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa spokeswoman, said production at its Silverton plant was disrupted by the transport sector strike, but would not quantify the vehicle production lost.
Matt Gennrich of Volkswagen South Africa said despite some difficulty production was normal at its Uitenhage plant. There were no disruptions at Port Elizabeth.
Nissan South Africa said neither its production nor its imports or exports through the ports in Durban and Mozambique had been affected.
Lynette Skriker of Mercedes-Benz South Africa said the strike had not had any immediate impact on its ability to meet production. – Roy Cokayne