Headquarters
14 June 2006
A group of protesters representing workers from the road freight industry
marched to the Labour Department headquarters in Pretoria today (Wednesday)
where they handed a memorandum of grievances.
Among the complaints were that the Department had failed to ensure the
implementation of a wage agreement signed with road freight employers on
February 6 this year.
They also demanded that the wage increases in question be backdated to March
1 with interest, and that a response should be received within 48 hours.
In the absence of Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana who is currently
attending the International Labour Organisation summit in Switzerland, the
departmentâs officials accepted the memorandum on his behalf.
Labour spokesman Mokgadi Pela has, however, pointed out that the said
agreement only reached the Department on March 24 and could therefore not have
been processed before the 60-day period that it normally takes.
Normally, before the Minister can apply his mind to any such agreement, he
has to establish clearly whether it complies with all the law requirements,
including workersâ representativity.
âOfficial records in the Department show that both the Road Freight Industry
National Bargaining Council (which represents the unions of the protesters) and
their employers (Road Freight Employers Association) are not representative of
the industry,â Pela said.
Accepting the memorandum, Labour officials assured the marchers that the
memorandum would be forwarded to the Minister on his return. They dispersed
peacefully.
Enquiries:
Mokgadi Pela
Cell: 082 808 2168
Website: http://www.labour.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Labour
14 June 2006
