Strike effects

[John Ashworth]

TRANSNET STRIKE CRIPPLES TRANSNAMIB

Posted on 01 June 2010 by Railways Africa Editor

Struggling as it is with serious financial problems, TransNamib – the national railway of Namibia – was said to be losing N$500 000 every day as a result of the Transnet wage strike in South Africa. This strike had a paralysing impact on building and mining, with supplies of cement and ammonia brought in from South Africa at a standstill. TransNamib spokesperson Ailly Hangula-Paulino was quoted saying that with Transnet Freight Rail out of operation, TransNamib was unable to continue service on its own.

Under normal circumstances, she said, between 300 and 400 Transnet wagons are to be found on the Namibian rail system. While the strike continued, this rolling stock could not be moved back to South Africa, carrying cargo such as zinc concentrate from Namibian mines. Hangula-Paulino said this had resulted in “very substantial” losses and commodity shortages.

TRANSNET STRIKE COSTS ROVOS DEARLY

Posted on 01 June 2010 by Railways Africa Editor

Observers say they can understand workers wanting to strike over differences with their employers. A growing number however find it difficult to reconcile so-called industrial action when it makes life difficult – often unbearable – for innocent people who do not deserve the consequences. This is especially the case when hundreds of thousands are prevented from getting to work. Most victims are from the poorest sector of the population, those to whom finding extra travelling money means even less on a table that may be little more than bare at the best of times.

Its cruel, that’s what it is, and chanting “the right to strike is enshrined in the constitution” rubs salt into an already gaping wound.

At the other end of the scale, there are well-to-do entities bearing the brunt of these weeks of determined inaction that has absolutely nothing to do with them. Such as Rovos Rail, in which one man (who invested all he had in what started out as a pipe-dream) has single-handedly done more for South African tourism than almost anyone we know.

According to Rohan Vos, who happens to have himself created employment for hundreds, “The strike has cost us dearly. We had to cancel two complete journeys to Cape Town. We had to leave trains in Kimberley and fly people out. That happened to two trains. And we had to leave a train in Durban.” This was due to Transnet staff not coming to work and locomotives not being available. “Signals were not working, all sorts of things. It’s been a hugely difficult time for us,” Vos told the press.

According to a Sapa report, Vos said the company had received numerous claims for costs, which it was honouring.