Proposed port strike peters out

While the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) called for a sympathy strike at the ports of Durban and Richards Bay on April 7 in support of a proposed berthing workers strike about changed shift schedules, the original strike was settled at the last minute. The union had called for the secondary strike – and aimed its call at all Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) and private sector port operations and stevedoring workers at the two ports. But the berthing worker’s strike came to nothing after the TNPA called for a meeting with the two unions involved, Satawu and the United Transport and Allied Trades Union (Utatu). A select group of workers, restricted to the berthing services, had embarked on strike action due to the implementation of the quad shift sytem, according to port manager, Ricky Bhikraj. “After fruitful engagement, management and labour reached consensus – which also averted the secondary strike.” But the feeling in the maritime freight industry was that the secondary strike had no grounds to stand on. Said Dave Watts, Durban-based maritime adviser to the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff): “The strike was to have been in support of berthing team workers whose shift schedules had been changed by the TNPA in a cost-saving exercise. But opinion was that it was unlikely to be well-supported anyway, considering the financial impact of last year’s stoppage and the debatable legal standing of a secondary strike over what are effectively overtime issues.”