Transnet sends out strong post-strike media message

In a near-full page newspaper advertisement addressed to “our customers, employees and all our important stakeholders” on Sunday, acting Transnet CEO Chris Wells talks of an ‘elegant’ solution to the strike. “We have created an incentive to get striking workers to return to work without impacting on the base cost of wages,” says Wells. “This elegant solution was signed by both Utatu and Satawu, our two recognised trade unions.” Wells assures the South African public and customers that “Transnet is now united and determined to deliver on our commitments to you,” adding the parastatal will “work tirelessly” to clear the backlog, estimated by Transnet human resources executive, Pradeep Maharaj, at six to eight weeks. Wells goes on to say: “With Utatu (one of the two unions involved in the strike) back at work earlier this week, we reached levels of efficiency in Durban, Richards Bay and Saldanha higher than the pre-strike period.”