Don’t hold us to ransom!

Recent protest marches and shutdowns in the transport industry are being condemned.

According to Musawenkhosi Ndlovu, national secretary of the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry (NBCRFLI), there is widespread concern over the recent protest marches and shutdowns that took place in NBCRFLI offices.

The organisers of these marches and shutdown are interdicted from doing so by a court order: “No appropriate notices giving permission to protest were issued to Council and we therefore question the legality of these marches and the police’s failure to enforce the court order. The Council and the leaders of the Parties to Council refuse to be bullied, held to ransom, and used as scapegoats of these attacks by associations that are not legally registered to represent employees and who want to operate outside the ambit of the South African employment law,” he says.

Ndlovu is therefore calling on all relevant government ministers and the President of the Republic, Cyril Ramaphosa, to take decisive action against these groups. “The All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa (ATDFASA) previously confirmed to the Minister of Employment and Labour that they represent unemployed truck drivers in South Africa, as opposed to the road freight and logistics industry employees.  Furthermore, the ATDFASA is not registered as a trade union in terms of applicable laws and as such cannot make any demands on behalf of industry employees. The Council, together with its Parties, have advised the ATDFASA and other associations on numerous occasions to collaborate with party unions or register with the Department of Employment and Labour, as this is mandated by law. Thereafter these associations would be welcome to then apply to be members of this Council. The ATDFASA has until now not acceded to that advice,” he says.

According to Ndlovu, the Parties to Council negotiated, concluded, and signed the settlement agreement for the industry, which was promulgated by the Minister of Employment and Labour for implementation effective from March 1, 2022. “It will not be reversed for any reason. It cannot be that an association that was not party to these negotiations can come afterwards and make demands – wanting to open these discussions through the backdoor, without following the South African employment law that they have been long advised to follow.

“The issue related to the employment of foreign nationals is a government matter, hence the Minister of Employment and Labour published a Draft National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) and amendments to the Employment Service Act for public comments. Once approved, the Council will derive its guidance from this legislation. We do not understand why ATDFASA is referring policy matters to this Council, as they are also privy to this information and are part of the Inter-Ministerial Task Team that discusses these matters.”

Following the attacks, Ndlovu has warned that it may be necessary for the Parties to Council to shut down the industry for a period of time, while it waits for the President and the relevant government ministers to resolve these matters: “The Parties to Council are no longer willing to watch and wait for further attacks on their companies, which have cost innocent lives and billions of rands in infrastructure.”