The United National Transport Union (UNTU) will file its application this week to take the ruling of the Labour Court on review and to enforce the contractual rights of its members working for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) for the payment of the 5% wage increase that was due on 1 April 2021.
Steve Harris, General Secretary of UNTU, says Prasa has to date maintained that is it committed to the multi-term wage agreement signed in the Prasa Bargaining Forum last year, but is to date unable to pay out the second year of the wage agreement due to a lack of funds.
“For the past four months Prasa is waiting for the Department of Transport and for National Treasury to provide the funding for the wage increase. It is unacceptable that Government can simply turn a blind eye to a collective agreement entered by one of its state-owned enterprises (SOE).
“Collective Bargaining is one of the pillars of the Labour Relations Act (LRA). UNTU will not allow Government to make a mockery thereof,” says Harris.
Acting Judge Reghana Tulk of the Labour Court in Johannesburg denied UNTU’s urgent application to force Prasa to pay the increase in July 2021 saying that the payment of the wage increase was not urgent.
UNTU will keep its members abreast of developments.
