By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) will not embark on a bus strike during the Easter long weekend after they received an improved offer from employers.
Wage negotiations have been going on since January, through the South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council, and Numsa declared a dispute in February.
Numsa is the majority union in the bus passenger sector, and said did not endorse the proposal. However, they will be consulting its members.
Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said they had received a firm offer from the mediator in the South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council (SARPBAC).
“The mediator has tabled a proposal which we are taking to members for them to consider. We are giving members time to apply their minds and decide whether they will accept the wage proposal, or not.
“As a result of this, we have decided that we will not embark on a strike during the Easter long weekend. We will be consulting members on the proposal which has been tabled by employers, and seeking a mandate from them.”
The union has said that it will communicate the decision on the proposal after meeting as part of the National Bargaining Forum, which is the formal negotiating platform for employers and labour, possibly on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on the availability of all parties.
Millions of people travel around the country over Easter and Numsa knows that bus companies cannot afford not to have their vehicles on the roads at this time.
Last year, Numsa also threatened a strike around Easter, but called it off after the employers returned to the negotiating table.