By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Justice,Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS) says a planned national strike in the trucking industry has been averted following engagements with the relevant trade unions and associations.
The truckers threatened highway closures in protest at the hiring of foreign nationals in what could have been a repeat of the disruption caused when they blocked highways in KwaZulu-Natal after former president Jacob Zuma’s imprisonment on contempt of court charges in 2021.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshaveni said the government’s intervention is aimed at eliminating any disruptions to the elections and the economy.
“Of the work that we are doing is also legislative amendments to address finally the ultimate goal of what the trade unions and the associations are pleading for in terms of how we manage the presence of foreign nationals in that sector and any other sector for that matter, however, if that sector is not functioning, its impact on the economy can be disastrous. So our commitment in this work that we are doing is not only limited to the elections but also post-elections. That’s why across all provinces we’ve got operational plans and we have a responsibility to assure South Africans that the shutdown is not taking place because we are working together with the social partners.”
Government said it has come to an agreement with freight and trucking stakeholders to implement outstanding legislative and enforcement measures.
Transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga gave the assurance that the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) had developed an operational plan that was being rolled out to ensure safe, secure national and provincial elections on 29 May.
She referred to the threat by some trade unions and associations in the trucking sector to embark on a national protest, including the closure of major routes from 20 May, to express their dissatisfaction.
Chikunga said the justice, crime prevention & security (JCPS) cluster and the Department of Employment & Labour (DEL) had worked with the relevant trade unions, associations and other social partners to ensure the suspension of the planned protest.
She added that the challenges in the trucking, freight and logistics sector would be attended to by government by legislative and enforcement measures.
“To this end, ongoing operations, including joint inspections by the technical team, are focused on the enforcement of applicable laws and regulations that govern the conduct of operations in the freight and logistics sector.”
These include enforcement of transport-related legislation as led by the department of transport and continuous compliance visits and inspections by the home affairs department to determine whether a person was in the country legally and was in possession of valid work permits linked to the correct place of work.
South Africa is less than a week away from the national and provincial elections.
Political parties continue to crisscross the country in an effort to secure votes ahead of the polls.
South Africa’s 27 million registered voters go to the polls for general elections on May 29, in what is expected to be the closest vote in three decades of democracy.