Gautrain bus drivers unhappy over breaks

Gautrain said on Tuesday that its bus service was not available because drivers were on strike. File picture: Etienne Creux

Gautrain said on Tuesday that its bus service was not available because drivers were on strike. File picture: Etienne Creux

Published May 5, 2015

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Johannesburg - A strike by Gautrain bus drivers is on the cards if a meeting next week over lunch hours does not go well.

The drivers, mostly represented by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA, embarked on a go-slow on Tuesday morning which caused major delays for commuters mainly in Sandton and Midrand in Gauteng.

They are demanding a one-hour continuous lunch break instead of the current 20 minute breaks from their employers, Mega Express.

Numsa spokesman Castro Ngobese said in a statement that a high-powered union delegation would be deployed to the meeting on Tuesday next week.

“If the scheduled meeting fails to broker a deal or settlement on this impasse, the union will explore other organisational strategies and tactics, based on a democratic and worker-controlled mandate from workers.

“It will be the workers that will guide the union on the next course of action, but we don’t rule out the possibility of calling for a full-blown strike until this matter is resolved,” he said.

Labour Bureau

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