Leonard Neill
THE RETRENCHMENT of 2 865 Transnet workers nationwide following its closure of Fast Forward has nothing to do with new owners, The Courier and Freight Group (CFG), says CFG commercial affairs executive Johan Brits.
Members of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) are currently locked in negotiations with Transnet officials over the issue of the retrenchments after staging a protest march through Johannesburg to Transnet offices last week.
Transnet closed the business and my group bought the assets, says Brits. There has been some confusion about procedures, but we are continuing in the normal parcel service and mini-container operations without having anything to do with what happens to any previous employment circumstances.
We took over all the existing contracts at the time of the purchase but it will take us between three and six months to integrate all the previous Fast Forward operations into our group.
Satawu officials are claiming that workers affected by the Transnet closure should have been given jobs within the new structure, with some destined for positions in the post office and others to be given contracts for periods ranging from six months to two years.
This did not come about so we are protesting against lack of implementation on the part of Transnet, said Satawu's national negotiator Joel Moiloa in a statement following the protest march.
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