Transnet strike will cripple vehicle makers, warns Naamsa

Motor manufacturers yesterday warned that strike action at the country's port and rail infrastructure would close all the assembly plants "within a matter of days, with a massive cascade effect throughout the entire automotive value chain in South Africa".

David Powels, the president of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa), said this was because the operations of vehicle manufacturers were heavily reliant on inbound and outbound logistics and a continuous flow of production parts and finished goods.

The strike by members of the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) and United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu) at transport parastatal Transnet is scheduled to begin on Monday.

The unions said the action would involve the majority of the 50 000 workers at Transnet.

Powels said the strike would compromise the recovery in the motor industry, which was emerging from a disproportionately severe three-and-a-half-year recession in domestic sales that was compounded last year by the impact of the global economic crisis.

He said the motor industry's production and export operations would be affected and this would send extremely negative messages internationally about South Africa's competitiveness and portray the country as an unreliable supplier of automotive products.

The associated loss of income could also prejudice industry employment levels, which had shown signs of good recovery during the first quarter, he said.

Satawu general secretary Zenzo Mahlangu said this week the central issue in dispute was the basic wage, with Transnet's management offering an 8 percent increase and unions demanding a 15 percent hike.

Mahlangu said the strike would affect Transnet Freight Rail, Transnet Rail Engineering, Transnet Port Terminals, Transnet Ports Authority, Transnet Pipelines, Transnet Capital Projects and Transnet's corporate head office.

He apologised in advance for any inconvenience caused by the action but stressed it was not an easy decision to go on strike. The absence of a decent wage offer had forced the unions into this position.

Powels expressed concern about the increasingly volatile industrial relations environment generally in South Africa, adding that the high level of strike action and industrial disputes would deter much-needed foreign investment in productive capacity in the South African economy.

"International capital flows to economies with a stable industrial relations climate, with high levels of productivity and a strong work ethic. South Africa is increasingly failing in this area," he said.

Powels said Naamsa respected the right of workers to pursue their legitimate interests in terms of labour legislation but stressed that in the interests of the country the parties to the dispute should do everything possible to resolve it through negotiations.

"It is imperative that all parties should avoid the extremely negative direct and indirect consequences of full-scale strike action," he said.