The South African National Taxi Council has warned of impending strike action in Johannesburg’s East Rand on 20 March.
On Monday, 19 March, the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) alerted the public of a planned strike on Tuesday, 20 March, “involving Ekurhuleni taxi leaders, owners and drivers.”
Speaking to Political Analysis South Africa on Monday, the Secretary of Ekurhuleni Taxi Industry (ETI), Bhuti Johannes Mahlangu, says tomorrow’s protest action “is about the grievances of the taxi people in Ekurhuleni concerning the ongoing construction of the BRT [Bus Rapid Transit] routes and the negotiations, as well as the way in which the City [Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality] has been treating the taxi industry in particular.”
Mahlangu says the protest action is a measure of last resort, as there have been numerous letters that ETI “wrote to the Mayor, to the City Manager, none of which were actually acknowledged nor even answered. And if we can’t reach them, there is no other way, except to do the march and hand in a memorandum.”
ETI also says it wants President Cyril Rampahosa to intervene and warns of “an intensified action depending on the way that they will answer or respond to our memorandum.”
The protect action will cause disruption to transportation services, and the City of Ekurhuleni on Monday advised that “there will be no Harambee bus service on Tuesday, 20 March 18 due to the Ekurhuleni Taxi Industry strike.”
SANTACO and ETI for their part have stated that they wish to “apologise to all commuters in Ekurhuleni for the inconvenience the strike would cause. We further advise them to make alternative transport arrangements, as no taxi will be operating tomorrow. The strike involves taxi leaders, owners and drivers.”
Mahlangu says the protest action “will affect all Ekurhuleni routes, including routes of associations that come outside of Ekurhuleni into Ekurhuleni, which is approximately 9,000 taxi locations.”
He adds that the strike will start in the early hours of the morning, and the actual march will “start at 10:00 AM at the Germiston Taxi Rank, to the City Council, and at 1 PM we will disperse.”
While the strike will primarily affect those who use taxis and the Harambee bus service, it is, however, likely that motorists may also be affected by the strike. Strikes and protest action involving the minibus taxi industry are typically characterised by illegal roadblocks, intimidation and mild levels of violence. Caution is advised.
Attempts to get hold of Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department Spokesperson, Wilfred Kgasago, were unsuccessful at the time this report was published.
