Transnet and Union in Negotiations to Avert Strike

The largest labor union representing workers at South Africa’s state-owned port and rail company has begun final negotiations with a third-party arbitrator to resolve a wage dispute and prevent a possible strike involving thousands of employees.

If the talks at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration on Wednesday and Thursday fail, the United National Transport Union—representing over half of Transnet’s more than 46,000 workforce—will issue a 48-hour notice for a strike, according to UNTU.

This week, union members supported “taking to the streets” to ensure their wage demands are met, as stated by UNTU.

UNTU rejected the company’s offer of a 6% salary increase over the next two years and 5.5% in the third year, instead demanding a 10% raise for the first year alone. In contrast, the smaller South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union had previously accepted the pay offer in March. Notably, the country’s annual inflation rate fell to 2.7% in March.

This wage conflict emerges as Transnet works to recover from years of corruption and theft, and to address aging infrastructure that has significantly jeopardized the South African economy and its export capacity. Inefficiencies in rail and port operations have led to coal and iron ore exports reaching their lowest levels in decades, costing the nation over R400 billion ($21.8 billion) in 2022, as reported by the Treasury.

A study by the World Bank ranks major ports operated by Transnet, which is burdened with R138 billion in debt, among the least efficient in the world.

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