The United National Transport Union (Untu) is launching a National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) Section 77 process through its affiliated federation, the Federation of Trade Union of South Africa (Fedusa).
The Section 77 will allow protected action to be used to force the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) and Minister of Transport Blade Nzimande to find solutions for the ongoing attacks on Untu members.
This comes after another spree of attacks on train crews, metro guards and protection services nationwide.
“This will be the second Section 77 application launched by Untu through Fedusa at Nedlac. In the previous application, a meeting was held by the Nedlac standing committee, with the parties, to try and bring them together to find solutions. Prasa once again made empty promises and never responded to Nedlac,” says Steve Harris, general secretary of Untu.
The Section 77 process refers to Section 77 of the Labour Relations Act, which speaks to protest action to promote or defend socio-economic interests of workers.
The section serves primarily to bring disputing parties together to engage on a matter to find a resolution, and to try and prevent protest action which is burdensome to worker and employers.
In the incidents, François Gouws, a Metrorail train driver, was shot at when passing the end of the platform at Umbogintwini Station. A few days later, a security officer of a private security company contracted by Prasa was assaulted by a commuter on the same route in KwaZulu-Natal.
Harris says a train was petrol bombed and looted at Orient Hills near Krugersdorp west of Johannesburg on Sunday.
Hours later, a Prasa security vehicle was shot at, at the Nyanga Substation on the central line in Cape Town. Once the Section 77 application has been submitted to Nedlac, Untu and Fedusa will announce its protest action.