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Disciplinary hearing against Tshwane bus drivers disrupts bus schedules
Normal bus operations in Tshwane will resume on Wednesday, September 17, according to the Tshwane metro.
The recent disruptions are due to two days of a disciplinary hearing against drivers who participated in an unprotected strike earlier this year.
The Tshwane metro has instituted disciplinary hearings for drivers who allegedly participated in an illegal strike on May 7 and 8.
The metro posted on its X account that certain morning and afternoon trips from Monday, September 16 would not be operating as a result of the continuous labour relations matter.- x.com/Tshwanebus2
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the employees belonging to labour union Samwu (the South African Municipal Workers’ Union) who participated in the illegal strike are currently undergoing a disciplinary hearing.
This disrupted the Tshwane bus schedules.
Mashigo said the hearings began on Monday and would only be wrapped up on Wednesday.
“For the past two days, about 20 shifts are not operating due to their appearance in the hearing. We expect all operations to return to normality from tomorrow morning.”
In May, bus drivers who are members of Samwu abandoned their shifts without notifying management or giving specific reasons for their actions.
The employees were reported to have suddenly demanded to see the city manager before downing their tools.
At the time, the city had not received any formal grievance from the protesting employees.
Employees affiliated with labour movement, the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (IMATU) honoured some of their shifts to ensure commuters weren’t severely impacted.
This prompted the metro to institute a disciplinary hearing on August 2, however 48 drivers absconded and also failed to report for duty resulting in partial interruption of bus operations.
The metro announced in a statement that the drivers would face additional charges for their unauthorised absence following their recent involvement in an illegal and unprotected strike.
Mashigo said they were supposed to appear before a disciplinary committee on August 2, however they did not show up for work despite being informed by their trade union representatives that the hearing had been rescheduled to August 19.
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