Photo by Neo Sithole.
23 June 2014
Cosatu in the Western Cape has called off its planned strike against Metrorail fare increases on train services in the province. Last week, Cosatu had said the strike was imminent following the breakdown of talks between the trade union federation and Metrorail Western Cape.
Cosatu’s provincial secretary, Tony Ehrenreich, said in a statement, “The Cosatu strike against Metrorail for the bad state of trains and fare increases will no longer take place on June 24.”
Cosatu has delayed the strike because of a request from Nedlac, which is yet to grant it a certificate for legal protection of the strike.
Nedlac was asked to facilitate talks between Cosatu and the transport ministry on the reasons for the strike.
Cosatu opposes planned fare increases and wants Metrorail to implement improvements on its services to ease the burden on workers caused by delays and poor service.
Metrorail has refused to back down on planned train fare increases, citing severe consequences if fare increases are delayed.