Satawu plans nationwide protest against Transnet privatisation

The SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) is planning a national protest next week Friday against the impending partial privatisation of Transnet.

In July, Transnet announced the Philippine company International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) as the preferred bidder for a 25-year joint venture with Transnet Port Terminals to develop and upgrade Durban Container Terminal Pier 2, according to Business Times.

The two trade unions representing Transnet employees, the United National Transport Union (Untu) and Satawu, raised issue with this announcement, accusing Transnet of bringing in the company before concluding consultations. They also accused ICTSI of violating human rights where it operates, a charge the company denies.

Satawu general secretary Jack Mazibuko said next week's march comes after a nearly two-year engagement with Transnet over the contentious privatisation of the entity's ports.

“We have entered into a number of engagements with Transnet management with a plan to turn the situation around. We put certain proposals to Transnet which we think can [help] turn things around but according to Transnet and the shareholder, which is the department of public enterprises, they believe that for them to turn the situation around, they [must] privatise Transnet,” he said.

Mazibuko said Satawu was “not convinced” by the move as the union “strongly believes there will be job losses if we allow this process to unfold”.

“Also, we'll be selling our last sovereignty as a country to the private partnership. So we said to Transnet, let's find means and ways,” he said.

Mazibuko said the best way to assist Transnet, according to Satawu, would be for the entity to get a cash injection from the government to help fix the ageing infrastructure, especially at the ports.

This form of a bailout could be paid back over a period of five years, he explained, given that Transnet does generate a profit. 

Mazibuko gave an update on the union's preparations for the planned protest.

“We have approached our federations, Cosatu and Fedusa, wherein we have requested that they need to get us a certificate through Nedlac [National Economic Development and Labour Council].

“We will shut down Transnet for a day as a way of showing the government and management that workers don't want privatisation. Should it happen that the message is not getting across, we'll be doing another application where we'll take time exercising the labour power that we have,” he said.

Marches were scheduled to take place in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and the Western Cape, as well as at other Transnet depots.

The main march would be in Durban, where the union would march to the premier's office and the department of public enterprises to hand over a memorandum.

Satawu confirmed it was continuing discussions with Untu to join the protest.

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