Pretoria - About 400 taxi drivers protesting over the traffic demerit system converged on the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Tuesday.
The march through Pretoria's central business district briefly halted traffic, but there were no reports of violence.
There was a strong police and media presence.
The South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu) is demanding that the government withdraw the new licensing system, saying that it would cause its members untold hardship and job losses.
In a memorandum handed to an official from President Jacob Zuma's office, Satawu demanded the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (Aarto) legislation be repealed.
It also demanded that all penalties and fines issued under the system, where it was currently operating on a trial basis, be reversed or cancelled.
Satawu also called for a new traffic bill, to be drawn up with the involvement of all those in the road transport industry. The union lastly wanted Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele to be reprimanded for forging ahead with Aarto. The system penalises drivers with demerit points for traffic offences.
Once a driver has 12 demerit points, his or her driver's licence gets suspended for three months. The licence gets cancelled on the third suspension.
Satawu secretary general Zenzo Mahlangu said they had hoped for a bigger crowd to join the march, but there had been “miscommunication” between the unions and taxi owners about the march date.
He said Satawu was not only representing taxi drivers, but all drivers and believed the new system was simply a “punitive revenue collecting” one.
There needed to be more emphasis on education. Drivers arrested and charged with traffic offences should be “rehabilitated”.
“There is no educational element to this. The system is focused on the massive realisation of revenue.”
To blame taxi drivers for the country's road carnage was unfair, because 34 percent of those killed on the roads were pedestrians.
Although the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) had not publicly commented on the new system, he claimed their silence was an indication they were in fact against it.
In a statement issued from Cape Town, Ndebele said the department had held talks with the union. The two parties met last Thursday. An agreement had been reached by both sides to establish a 10-man panel to “engage” on the new traffic legislation.
“As government we welcome partnerships with various formations, including organised labour, business, the religious community and civil society. The carnage on our roads must stop. It is our children. It is our brothers and sisters. It is our sole breadwinners who are losing life and limb.”
Ndebele welcomed Santaco's decision not to participate in the strike.
Satawu's first president June Dube told the protesters on the lawns of the Union Buildings that it was problematic that the Road Traffic Management Corporation would be responsible for Aarto. This was especially so given allegations of mismanagement, and the fact that RTMC chief executive Ranthoko Rakgoale was currently suspended.
“It (RTMC) is corrupt. How can a corrupt organisation manage a punitive system?” he asked, to roars of approval.
Tshwane metro police spokesperson Alta Fourie said the protest went off peacefully. - Sapa