Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) acting CEO Collins Letsoalo, who was supposed to use his “so-called ‘Mr Fix-It’ skills” to get the derailed passenger railway service back on track, must be fired with immediate effect, the United National Transport Union (Untu) said on Sunday.
“The Sunday Times revealed this morning (Sunday) that the arrogant Letsoalo, who has since his appointment almost nine months ago refused to meet with the leadership of the United National Transport Union (Untu) – the majority union in Prasa – gave himself a 350 percent salary increase,” Untu general secretary Steve Harris said.
Although Letsoalo took the time to explain to Parliament how Prasa bled R13.9 billion thanks to mismanagement and irregular contracts under former CEO Lucky Montana, he still “went about and demanded the same R5.9 million salary package his predecessor used to receive”, he said.
“But this youngster had to go a step further – Letsoalo also got a chauffeur-driven car and a company cellphone with unlimited calls. To add more injury to this shocking injustice, Letsoalo went ahead to safeguard his own pocket while his employees, especially those on the notorious central line between Cape Town and Langa in the Western Cape, are being killed, assaulted and robbed by armed thugs daily.
“While Letsoalo was being safety transported by his chauffeur, Nomveliso Brookwe, 30, one of his female train drivers, who was escorted by seven unarmed train guards, feared being raped on 4 January, 2017 when one of three armed robbers overpowered them between the Khayelitsha and the Nonkqubela stations (and) tried to drag her into a bush,” Harris said.
While similar attacks on Prasa employees frequently occurred on railway lines across the country, “incompetent” Transport Minister Dipuo Peters and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa remained silent in spite of Untu repeatedly calling both to action by either sending in the SANDF to stabilise the war on railway lines or re-establishing the dedicated South African railway police service, since railway conditions had rapidly deteriorated after the service was abolished, or even place the state-owned company under the administration of the courts. All these demands from Untu fell on deaf ears.
To make matters even worse, Letsoalo, the mandate giver in the Prasa wage negotiations, was only prepared to offer employees a 3 percent salary increase as of April 1. Untu demanded 20 percent because, among others, “thanks to Letsoalo’s spending spree, Prasa alleges that it does not have money to comply with the terms of a collective agreement it signed with unions more than a year ago”.
The 19 outstanding disputes amounted to thousands of rand per month each struggling Prasa employee did not have in his or her pocket, he said.
“Today is the saddest day in our democratic dispensation. This country has fought for the financial freedom for all, not only an exclusive few like Letsoalo. But now the powers that be are allowing this shocking abuse of taxpayers’ money to continue, while Prasa employees on ground level have huge challenges to continue delivering a service to hard-working commuters also trying to make a living.
“Unfortunately, if government does not act, Untu‘s membership in Prasa will have no other option than to bring Prasa services to a halt with a national protected strike to see justice to be done.
"The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitrationhas already issued Untu with a strike certificate and the union can give Prasa 48 hours' notice if we decide to mobilise our members,” Harris said.