Bus companies should refund and compensate travellers who will be left stranded because of the nationwide strike in the passenger bus sector 

13 April 2017

The Congress of South African Trade Unions calls on all bus companies to reimburse all passengers and commuters ,who have bought their tickets for the duration of the strike, including those that were planning to use buses to visit their families and friends over the Easter Holiday Weekend. These passengers will now be left stranded because of the nationwide strike in the passenger bus sector.

Many people who use public transport bought tickets for this week and for the Easter holidays and they were not told that there was a possibility that there would not be transport services this week because of a possible strike. The bus companies should not have accepted payment for tickets because they had no reasonable intention of supplying them, and this was foreseeable as they were engaged in tense wage negotiations.

The unions in an attempt to find each other during negotiations took part in a mediation process led by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). After they failed to reach a compromise the CCMA issued a certificate of non-resolution subject to a 30-day mandatory cooling-off period before unions could embark on a strike. The bus companies were definitely aware that this cooling off period was going to expire on Saturday 8 April.

COSATU reiterates its full support for the legitimate and fair demands from the unions and call on the employers to accede to these demands to put an end to this devastating strike. Bus owners need to think about the workers and their passengers and not just about profits.

We are also restating our call on the Department of Transport to intervene and work to help resolve this strike on behalf of thousands of workers and travellers, who will be affected by the strike over the GoodFriday Long weekend. This strike will put a strain on the transport system during this busy weekend and if not resolved, we are likely to see an increase in road fatalities.

Issued by Sizwe Pamla, National Spokesperson, COSATU, 13 April 2017