The All Truck Drivers’ Forum Allied South Africa (ATDF-SA) suspended its planned national shutdown. Picture: Timothy Bernard
The All Truck Drivers’ Forum Allied South Africa (ATDF-SA) has suspended its planned national shutdown, which would have seen truck drivers refusing to work due to complaints against the employment of foreigners in the industry.
Reports indicate that the planned national shutdown was temporarily put on hold after a meeting with the relevant stakeholders on Sunday, with the forum saying it will continue to monitor the situation as well as the implementation plan agreed upon at the meeting.
The much-anticipated shutdown was expected to see more than 700 truck drivers from Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng down their tools in a protest against the employment of foreigners, and wage disparities in the sector.
The forum said it has not received any confirmation it had requested from the Department of Employment and Labour to investigate some of the allegations of employment of foreigners in the sector.
“ATDF-SA has not received the confirmation or assurance it requested from the Department of Employment and Labour to investigate their allegations of certain identified transport companies employing foreign nationals without having followed the process required when employing a foreign national by a South African company.
“The leadership of ATDF-SA has noted that it is a protest but that they can’t guarantee are that certain factions/individuals will not resort to violence or perpetuate other unlawful acts.”
According to Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili, who briefed the media after the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoins) meeting on Sunday, law enforcement agencies were already prepared to deal with the strike.
“Law enforcement agencies are on high alert to ensure there are no criminal activities and that law-abiding citizens are not inconvenienced. We reiterate our stance that no lawlessness and any form of criminality will be tolerated,” she said.
Mosikili further called on the road freight industry to communicate their grievances within the confines of the law.
SA Trucker reported that the forum urged all its members to refrain from any illegal activity, “and expressed the hope that government departments would uphold their commitment to intensify inspections and enforcement of compliance regulations”.
“While the association remains committed to the best endeavours to convince the ATDF-SA to cancel the protest, members are urged to consider the heightened risk on May 20, 2024, when planning operations.
“As always, the decision to operate (or not) remains with an individual company. There are traditional ATDF-SA hotspots: the N3; Mpumalanga; and the R25 but these may change,” the forum said.
The Star
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