Update on ongoing industrial action at Metrobus

The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has stated Metrobus remains committed to its values underpinned by the provision of public transportation in a safe and secure environment to the citizens of Johannesburg.

An indefinite strike for the last four weeks has brought Metrobus’ operations to a halt. The industrial action is led by the Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers’ Union of SA (Demawusa). Demawusa members have been on strike in support of their 18 per cent wage increase demand.
Metrobus in turn has noted with concern the open letter written by Demawusa containing a number of factual inaccuracies.
CoJ has released the following statement:

Adjudication of legal disputes
During the resolution of labour disputes, legal questions may arise that may be viewed by one party or the other as central to the possible resolution of the dispute at hand.
These questions are best left to courts to determine. Accordingly it is disingenuous for either party to seek to dictate the nature of such question or the timing that either party elects to bring such before a court of law.

Metrobus contends the matters brought before the court in relation to the Demawusa strike remain unresolved and have not diminished in their importance.
The entity has noted with respect that the court found its argument insufficient to meet the standard or urgency. Having found in this manner on the issue of urgency, the court, rightfully did not deal with the merits of the case.

The central point that led to a court bid in this regard is the fact that it is a legal requirement that upon contemplating a strike, a union must conduct a secret ballot among its members of good standing. The purpose of such ballot is to indicate whether or not such union has a mandate to go on strike.
In this case, Demawusa could not demonstrate it had complied with the law and therefore any reasonable person must come to the conclusion that Demawusa either has no real members or that it did not obtain from its members a mandate to strike.

The conclusion is that the decision to strike was one reached by a few individuals led by disgruntled power-mongering individuals not employed by Metrobus.
In essence, the legitimate interests of workers have been hijacked by a few ex-employees who wish to have their jobs back through the perpetuation of violence and in blatant disregard of the interest of the masses of citizens who depend on Metrobus for transportation.

This is further evidenced by a demand placed by Demawusa, which reads: “We demand that all employees dismissed from 2016, those who claimed constructive dismissal and those who will be dismissed before the signing of an agreement be reinstated from the dates of their dismissal without losing any benefits.”
In demonstration of the self-serving motives of Demawusa, it is worth noting that among those dismissed by Metrobus since 2016 for various reasons are current members of Demawusa leadership.

Demawusa constitution
Claims that Metrobus is seeking to break Demawusa using the unions are baseless and a lame attempt at moving attention from the real matters at hand.
The real matter at hand is that the requirement for a ballot prior to a strike is a provision in this constitution. Accordingly, any party with reasonable interest must be allowed to hold the union accountable to its own constitution. After all, it is on the basis of this constitution that the union was registered as a trade union by the Department of Labour.

It is an act of corruption on the part of the union to act in a manner contrary to its own constitution. In this case it is clear Demawusa has acted against its own constitution in as far as the requirement of balloting is concerned.
This lack of mandate to strike has been evidenced by the fact that the majority of employees (98 per cent) has been presenting themselves to work since the commencement of the strike.

Accordingly, Demawusa will be well advised to refrain from claiming it speaks for the employees of Metrobus since such claim is at best a fabrication and at worst a fraudulent claim aimed at legitimising a vendetta against the interest of Metrobus and its commuters.
Instead of producing evidence of its compliance with the law, Demawusa continues to read the judgement of the court selectively to support its ill-conceived narrative and, in its own words, ‘continuing to be economical with the truth’.

This evidence is more important than the convenient sewing together of popular phrases such as ‘stop playing politics with Metrobus workers and passengers, stop scare-mongering about violence without evidence, stop wasting public money trying to justify your inaction, start engaging Demawusa and put our passengers and bus workers first’.

Threats of violence
Metrobus has been informed by its employees that threats of violence have been made against non-striking employees. Metrobus considered these reports in light of an unfortunate history of violent strikes at Metrobus during which limb and life was lost.
Certain sections of Demawusa may have indirectly benefited from these tragedies and may find it convenient to forget these incidents. However, most employees and the families of those who were maimed and killed continue to remember these incidents and the leadership under whom such incidents occurred.
In this regard, the continued calling of evidence of threats by Demawusa sounds extremely hollow and is tantamount to spitting in the face of those who continue to suffer because of the unnecessary violence.
Metrobus management values the life and limb of its employees and commuters above all else.

Driving a bus through unsubstantiated allegations of corruption
Metrobus has insisted from the beginning that all allegations of corruption must be reported without delay to the relevant authorities for investigation.
Demawusa has resisted its civic duty to report allegations of corruption to either the Forensic Services in the City of Joburg or the office of the Public Protector. This refusal is motivated by selfish motives far removed from the interests of workers.
Demawusa has not reported any allegations to relevant authorities because the so-called concerns raised are not for the benefit of accountability but are only useful as tools for bargaining in the hands of Demawusa.

A call to attention to facts and rejection of fiction
• Demawusa refuses to join the ranks of orderly collective bargaining in the Local Government Sector. While it is the right of the union to do so, it must also accept the limitations placed by this choice on the level of collective bargaining that it may have with Metrobus.
• At the centre of the strike is individual power mongering disguised as legitimate employee demands.
• Demawusa is benefiting from the loss of life and limb suffered by Metrobus employees in the past. This benefit is derived through the reasonable fear of violence that is inadvertently assisting in perpetuating the objectives of the strike.
• Metrobus has legitimately and in line with approved budgets and plans spent millions of rands in ensuring the useful life of buses is increased. This is in line with its mandate. This spending and all other spending has not escaped the attention of successive independent audits over the years. To date no adverse finding has been recorded against Metrobus in this regard.
• Demawusa has never enjoyed collective bargaining rights at Metrobus.
• Employee demands, including salary adjustments, are being negotiated at the South African Local Government Bargaining Council with recognised union who represent the majority of our employees.
• Demands placed by Demawusa fall within three categories: disputes of interest, disputes of right, allegations of corruption and/or maladministration.

Disputes of interest relate to substantive conditions of employment being negotiated at the Local Government Bargaining Council. Any agreement in this regard will be extended to all employees, including those who are not members of the majority unions.
Disputes of right, which include alleged salary disparities, must by law be referred for adjudication to forums such as the CCMA or even the labour court.

Allegations of corruption
Metrobus has already indicated its willingness to cooperate with any party on the basis of public interest to ensure that information is provided to assist in the investigation of matters that are properly referred to recognised bodies such as the office of the Public Protector.
In view of the situation, management apologises to all commuters for the ongoing hardship and inconvenience commuters are experiencing. Metrobus is utilising all avenues available to them to bring this industrial action to a stop to allow normal operations to resume.
Metrobus encourages commuters to make alternative travelling arrangements for the week commencing on May 24. Metrobus remains committed to ensuring safe, reliable transport to commuters as soon as it is safe and practicable to do so.