Strike would impact non-union members too

The truck drivers’ strike – due for February 13 – would have a drastic impact on the SA trucking industry, according to Paul Rayner, MD of container carriers, DTB Cartage. It’s not purely the strike, he told FTW, but the intimidation and violence that accompanies it that is the main threat. According to figures from the Durban Harbour Carriers’ Association (DHCA) – a KwaZulu Natal section of the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) – if a strike was called for by the membership of the four unions which represent the industry, it would involve only 51% of the total drivers’ pool in SA. “The problem is that, although it would only involve union members directly, the strike would indirectly hit non-union members, private truckers and owner/operators,” said Rayner. He looked back at last year’s Transnet strike – which absolutely paralysed the SA freight industry – and pointed to “a couple of incidents” which involved drivers at his company. “The threats of intimidation and violence only affected two of our drivers, but was enough to force our other drivers to also stop work.” The official words from the DHCA, expressed by Kevin Martin, chairman of the association and MD of container trucker, Freightliner Transport, were: “We’re looking for a resolution rather than a confrontation.”