MILLIONS of rand was lost in productivity today as thousands of workers were either late or unable to get to work at all because of a taxi strike.
Taxis blocked all the main routes entering and leaving the Durban central business district on Monday. These included the N2 north and south, as well as the N3 coming into the city centre.
The roads leading to the Toyota plant in Prospecton also came to a standstill as taxi drivers made their way to the plant.
The action was organised by the SA Taxi Association over what they regarded were high prices charged by Toyota for vehicles used as taxis.
The protest was also meant to highlight other issues including interest rates, insurance premiums and tracking company prices. They also want radical transformation on the agenda.
Thulani Qwabe, chief executive officer of Taxi Choice, a taxi business vehicle finance firm, said: “The taxi industry feels that it has done enough talking. It is now time for action. Today was our first action to voice our concern.”
The organisers had called for a peaceful protest, but there were widespread reports of intimidation.
Commuters in buses and taxis not involved in the action were threatened and there were reports of stones being thrown at privately-owned vehicles.
Tyres were also set alight along the M35 intersection at uMbumbulu and Isipingo.
Police, who were aware of the protest, were helpless as taxi drivers used their vehicles to block intersections or drove slowly in convoys creating a backlog. Some abandoned their vehicles in the middle of the road.
Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane, provincial police spokesperson, could merely urge motorists to use alternative routes, but most of these were also affected.
Meanwhile Business Report, sister newspaper of the Daily News, said in a report that Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) had not had any contact with the protest group, did not know the leadership of the group and was unaware of the group’s demands.
They quoted Suben Moodley, TSAM senior vice president: corporate affairs, in this regard.
On Monday the company spokesman Clynton Yon would only say that they were aware of the situation around Durban.
Ibrahim Patel, president of the Minara Chamber of Commerce, said when the government negotiated with Toyota to have the Quantum manufactured locally, the purpose was to create more jobs. The strike, Patel said, would not only impact on the economy, but also on productivity.
“Companies and businesses will battle to operate, and productivity and revenue will drop. The information we got is that this strike could go beyond today, and other parts of the country could be affected,” Patel said. - Daily News Reporter