Johannesburg - Thousands of Mpumalanga commuters were left stranded on Friday because of a strike by bus drivers.
The employees of the provincial bus service Buscor embarked on the action after pay talks deadlocked.
Domestic worker Joyce Mthembu was one of those affected.
“I am very angry and upset. I have three children to feed and now I can’t even get to work. All of my friends are also very sad,” Mthembu to a Sapa correspondent.
Buscor executive chairwoman Nora Fakude-Nkuna described the strike as unfortunate.
“Buscor regrets the current situation and inconvenience that the strike will cause to passengers and businesses in general,” she said.
“Our employer organisations will continue to engage with the unions... to find a settlement as soon as possible,” Fakude-Nkuna said in a statement.
Drivers were demanding, among other things, a 20 percent wage increase, while employers were only offering 6.5 percent.
The nationwide strike was organised by the SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union.
Satawu national spokesman Vincent Masoga said members had good grounds to protest.
“We feel that the strike is justified as, after protracted discussions, they have still not delivered what the workers feel is needed,” he said.
“It is time to make them feel the same pain and frustration the employees feel.”
Talks to resolve the impasse resumed earlier in the day.
Sapa