The United National Transport Union (Untu) met with Transnet to find ways to resolve the wage deadlock on Monday but the parties did not manage to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.
Untu general secretary, Cobus van Vuuren, said he and the union’s senior leadership, including president Wielligh Meyer, vice president Luvuyo Mdyogolo and executive councillors Douw Dreyer and Avhatakali Mudalahote, had attended the urgent bilateral meeting called by Transnet Management.
This comes after Untu filed a mutual interest dispute with the Transnet Bargaining Council after reaching a deadlock during wage negotiations when it rejected the employer’s final offer of a 6% wage increase in 2025 and 2026 followed by 5.5% in 2027. It also rejected the offer because it did not have a clause promising that there would be no retrenchments for the duration of the agreement.
“The purpose of the meeting was to explore possible solutions to break the deadlock in the 2025/26 salary and wage negotiations,” said Van Vuuren.
“As the responsible majority union, Untu agreed to the meeting in recognition of the potential economic impact that industrial action could have on Transnet and our economy, taking into consideration the R1 billion loss per day during the 2022 strike.
“It is therefore, regrettable and with great disappointment that this meeting did not yield any positive progress.”
He said the mutual interest dispute conciliation process regarding the deadlock on wage negotiations would therefore proceed as scheduled at the Transnet Bargaining Council on Monday, 14 April.
“Untu remains hopeful that the commissioner will be able to bring the parties closer together and an improved offer will be tabled, which, as a responsible union, we can then take back to our constituencies for a mandate,” said Van Vuuren.
“This will be the last attempt between Untu and management to resolve the impasse before a certificate of non-resolution is issued, which, if issued, will enable Untu members to embark on protected industrial action, should the members choose to embark on industrial action.”
The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, a minority union, accepted Transnet’s final wage offer that was tabled last month.
