Tshwane drops court action as bus drivers return to work

Tshwane Bus Service operations resumed yesterday after drivers ended their strike. Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA)

Tshwane Bus Service operations resumed yesterday after drivers ended their strike. Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Apr 22, 2021

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Pretoria - The City of Tshwane has pulled the plug on its urgent application to the Labour Court to interdict the strike by Tshwane Bus Service drivers.

This after the drivers returned to work yesterday morning, the City said.

The drivers, affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers Union, had been accused of stoning two buses on Tuesday morning as they left the depot.

They were demanding that the City allow them to drive in the A Re Yeng rapid transit bus lane. The drivers also wanted more shifts and improvements on the automatic fare collection system.

City chief of staff Jordan Grifiths said that the urgent court application depended on the drivers returning to work and ceasing their efforts to damage buses and intimidating other drivers who did not participate in the illegal demonstrations.

He said: “The City does not tolerate illegal strikes, so disciplinary hearings for the drivers who were on the forefront of these demonstrations will carry on, and although there may not be dismissals, there may be sanctions.”

Griffiths said these drivers had been warned in writing before the City asked the court to institute criminal proceedings against them.

He said their demands were not things the City could give them right now.

The union’s regional secretary, Mpho Tladinyane, said that they were legitimate grievances that the drivers had been raising for years without the City showing an interest in addressing them.

Tladinyane said: “After what happened on Tuesday morning we met with the City at night to discuss the matter, and we will be meeting again next Wednesday as we try to find common ground and understanding but, as we speak, none of the drivers has had a disciplinary hearing.”

City spokesperson Selby Bokaba said officials from the Tshwane Metro Police Department were deployed to the Tshwane Bus Services to ensure that there was no disruption of service yesterday.

“The City is continuing with disciplinary action against all the employees that participated in the illegal strike and is also implementing the ’no work, no pay' rule.

“Tshwane management is adamant that firm action has to be taken against employees that behave as though they are a law unto themselves and have scant regard for the customers, who are the loyal Tshwane Bus Service commuters.

“The City reiterates its apology to the frustrated and inconvenienced TBS commuters and will strive to ensure that there is no recurrence of unnecessary disruption of service.”

Pretoria News