South Africa’s main labour union at state-owned logistics group Transnet says it will resume wage talks next week in a bid to resolve a pay dispute and avoid a potential strike.
The United National Transport Union (UNTU), which represents over half of Transnet’s 46,000 employees, announced that negotiations are scheduled for May 14 and 15 in Johannesburg.
UNTU has rejected Transnet’s proposed wage increase—6% over the next two years and 5.5% in the third year—demanding instead a 10% raise. The smaller South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union accepted the offer in March.
“We remain hopeful that Transnet will give due consideration to these wage proposals, helping avert industrial action that could further destabilize an already fragile economy,” UNTU said in a statement.
Transnet’s rail and port operations are critical to South Africa’s export of bulk commodities. A strike could severely impact an economy that has averaged less than 1% growth over the past decade. A previous Transnet strike in 2022 was estimated by the Minerals Council South Africa to have cost mining companies around R815 million per day.
