The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) said on Tuesday its members would shut down the country’s ports on Thursday as part of a strike against salary discrepancies between black and white mariners.
Negotiations between the union and the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) collapsed this week.
If the strike goes ahead it would have a devastating impact on the economy as the ports authority controls and operates all eight commercial seaports along the country’s coastline.
In a statement, Satawu spokesperson Zanele Sabela said black staffers were being paid lower wages than their white counterparts and the state-owned company had failed to address the anomaly despite acknowledging its existence.
“Following the granting of the strike certificate, TNPA called on Satawu to put off the industrial action, saying it wanted to negotiate. The parties held two robust meetings but could not reach a satisfactory ag
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