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As a result of the bus company's request to be exempted from the May wage deal, Putco would have been ordered to pay workers their wage increases.
According to the transport unions, Algoa, Golden Arrow, Putco, Amogelang and Phumatra Transport Enterprise – all of whom signed a wage agreement with the unions after the grueling 26-day strike – asked to be exempted from the tax. agreement.
At the end of June, the South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu) sounded the alarm claiming that Putco had refused to pay wage increases and bonuses to its workers after the dismissal of 220 workers. The Bargaining Council heard the exemption hearing on June 29th.
The request for exemption presented by the bus patrons follows the request of the Negotiating Council of South African Road Pbadengers to the Minister of Labor to cover all the companies in the sector.
READ MORE: Saftu criticizes bus patrons threatening to make pay deal in court
Bus companies have cited recent price increases as a reason they can not not pay the salary increases. 19659002] The May wage agreement stipulated that workers would receive a pay raise of 9% the first year and 8% the second
On Friday, Putco was ordered to pay 7% of the increase agreed by the Clerk. Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The remaining 2% must be paid in January 2019. Putco has also been ordered to pay premiums for this year. The company must apply for a second claim if it wants to be exempted from the wage increase of 2019.
"This order is a victory for workers who had been on strike for nearly a month", said Satawu spokesman Zanele Sabela. Throughout the wage negotiations, the bus bosses insisted that they could not pay the proposed salary increase. During the strike, Golden Arrow spokesman John Dammert explained that the bus sector – in addition to the operational difficulties – is facing decreasing support in the form of grants from the Ministry of Transport.
On Monday, the CCMA in Cape Town heard the request for exemption from Golden Arrow.
According to Sabela, Golden Arrow has decided to pay the salary increase for 2018, but is asking for an exemption of 8% increase for 2019. Sabela also told Mail & Guardian that the company seeks to cancel its wage progress agreement
Sabela said that the Putco order gave the union badurance that the exemption applications made by Golden Arrow and the other bus companies would be rejected.
"This gives us hope and encourages us to keep fighting," she says.
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