• HOME
  • WHO WE ARE
    • Our History
    • Achievements
    • Aims and Objectives
    • External Links
  • LEADERSHIP
    • National Office Bearers
    • Provincial Office Bearers
    • National Sector Coordinators
    • Heads of Departments
  • SECTORS
    • Transport Services
      • Rail
        • Freight (Transnet)
        • Passenger (Prasa)
      • Passenger Transport
        • Buses
        • Taxis
      • Freight and Goods Transport
    • Maritime Transport
    • Civil Aviation
    • Transport Infrastructure Services
      • Tollgates and Road Management
    • Property Services
    • Contract Security
    • Contract Cleaning
    • General Support Services
  • MEDIA CENTER
    • News
    • Galleries
      • Not Silent, Not Violent
      • ITG Global Women’s Conference
      • #Bring Back Our Girls Campaign
    • Publications
  • MEMBERS AREA
    • Why Join SATAWU
    • Who can join SATAWU?
    • Benefits of joining SATAWU
    • Download Constitution
    • Download Application Form
  • CONTACT
  • Cookie Policy (ZA)

SATAWU To Down Tools and Shutdown SA Ports

May 28, 2019Zanele SabelaFreight and Goods Transport, Press Releases, Rail1 comment

South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) members at Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) are set to down tools at 6am on Thursday, 30 May, in a strike that will see a total shutdown of the country’s ports.

SATAWU served the strike notice to TNPA on Monday morning after the Transnet Bargaining Council issued the certificate in April. At issue is the salary discrepancy between black and white mariners, with white mariners drawing higher salaries than their black counterparts even when they have less experience.

Following the granting of the strike certificate, TNPA called on SATAWU to put off the industrial action, saying it wanted to negotiate. The parties held two robust meetings but could not reach a satisfactory agreement despite the company admitting to pay discrepancies across all divisions. SATAWU then requested that a neutral third party be commissioned to conduct an investigation and make recommendations on how the issue should be handled but management declined the request. On consulting affected members, SATAWU received a strong mandate to embark on strike.

SATAWU members are set to go on strike at all of the country’s ports including Durban, Richards Bay, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Saldanha Bay, Mossel Bay and East London. Workers who will be striking include pilots who bring the ships from the ocean into the port and vice versa; tug masters who assist pilots move the ships and chief marine engineers who maintain the ships and operate the engines. The mariners skills set is such that its withdrawal will result in a total shutdown at all ports.

On average the mariners move three ships per two-hour interval. These vessels ferry goods worth millions of rand bringing the potential loss due to the strike action to billions of rand.

Our members are convinced the employer does not care about them considering 25 years into democracy, TNPA is still implementing apartheid-style pay scales. If management does not come to the table meaningfully by 3 June, SATAWU will have no option but to elevate the action to a secondary level where all its members at TNPA will down tools.

Zanele Sabela, SATAWU Media Officer, 011 403 2077

Tags: chief marine engineers, Mariners, pilots, SA Ports Shutdown, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), tug masters

Related Articles

SATAWU Perspective on Government’s Attempt to Privatise Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA)

April 15, 2021Vuyani Valashiya

Satawu to shut down SA ports over racial pay differences

May 29, 2019Zanele Sabela

Port strikes will bring SA economy ‘to a standstill’, says Satawu

May 29, 2019Zanele Sabela

1 comment. Leave new

Sanette Robinson
May 28, 2019 5:07 pm

Does this only apply to race? I know as a female I do not get paid the same as my male counterparts with same qualification and similar experience.

Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Learn More About Us

  • Our History
  • Scope of the Union
  • Aims and Objectives
  • Achievements

Get in Touch

Email
Facebook
Twitter
Google+

News Report

  • 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐖𝐔 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐀 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐂𝐄𝐎-𝐌𝐫 𝐙𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰𝐬
  • 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐖𝐔 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝-𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬
  • SATAWU Perspective on the draft National Labour Migration Policy and Employment services Amendment Bill
  • SATAWU Welcomes the Precautionary Suspension of the PRASA Group CEO-Mr Zolani Matthews
  • 𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐒𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐖𝐔 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐀𝐗 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐍-𝐏𝐀𝐘𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒𝟏𝟑 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏
Copyright@2018 SATAWU
Manage Cookie Consent
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Preferences
{title} {title} {title}