Wiseman Khuzwayo
Upstart trade union the National Transport Movement (NTM), which is running rings around SAA and the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), is led by a president with a controversial past.
Ephraim Mphahlele scooted out of the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) in August last year under a cloud of controversy, which only darkened with the union’s parting shot to its departing leader.
“Satawu notes and welcomes the resignation of Ephraim Mphahlele from the position of president and member of the union. His resignation comes at a time that the union was going to convene its central executive committee to decide on his conduct in bringing the union into disrepute and plunging the union into a crisis mode.”
Satawu faces a huge legal bill after Mphahlele distributed a dossier to the media which alleged that Prasa and its chief executive, Lucky Montana, were involved in tender rigging. Montana is now suing the union for defamation.
Mphahlele immediately set about establishing the NTM, which is now trying to grab SAA by the short hairs in its fight for recognition. It claims to have 1 600 members at SAA.
Among its litany of woes, SAA had to be bailed out by the the government with a loan of R440 million for fuel.
Last Friday, NTM members at SAA and Prasa went on strike, accusing management of both entities of refusing to recognise their union even though they had surpassed the number of members needed for it to be validated.
Both SAA and Prasa said the NTM membership had not reached the required threshold of 50 percent plus one member for recognition under the Labour Relations Act (LRA).
Another upstart union, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), made its presence felt during the violent strikes in the platinum belt last year.
Labour law experts and analysts said on Friday it was advisable for an employer to hold discussions with these minority unions even if they did not meet the requirements for recognition under the LRA.
Andrew Levy, an analyst at Andrew Levy Employment, said: “The LRA is quite ruthless if you can’t get the numbers. The strikes by these unions will never succeed. But if they have enough members, talk to them.”
He said the influence of these radical unions had grown because the majority unions had lost touch with their members, as shown in the platinum belt last year when Amcu got the upper hand.
Johan Botes, the director of employment practice at law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, agreed that the new unions had had an impact on industrial relations dynamics.
“They are tapping into the dissatisfaction with the present unions and say we will fight a good fight for you.
“Every now and then we see a regeneration of trade unions. It is best for the employer to sit down and have discussions with them because a strike, even by a small union, can be disruptive to the business.”
Michael Bagraim, the chairman of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and a labour lawyer, said these small unions made unreasonable demands that had no substance.
“Union members are flocking to these upstarts because they are desperate. Our collective bargaining system needs an overhaul because of what these minority unions are doing,” he said.