Truck employers 'disappeared'

"Never is the history of our bargaining council have we ever had employers walking away from the negotiations."

Representatives of the road freight industry have "disappeared" after walking away from negotiations, the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) said on Wednesday.

"Satawu is appalled by the employers' behaviour," said union spokesman Vincent Masoga.

"Never is the history of our bargaining council have we ever had employers walking away from the negotiations."

He said unions presented their position to the employers at the offices of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), after which employers walked out.

"The employers have since disappeared and we believe their delusional attitude is informed by a decision by the smaller unions to have called off the strike action," Masoga said.

The Road Freight Employer's Association (RFEA) on Tuesday morning announced that three unions, The Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu), the Professional Transport Workers' Union and the Motor Transport Workers' Union (MTWU) -- who together claim a 15,000 membership -- would suspend their strike activities while wage negotiations continued.

This would have left Satawu as the only union continuing with the strike.

However, the MTWU's Dirk White on Tuesday said his members were still on strike and that the RFEA had issued their statement without his approval.

Masoga said the statement by the RFEA had created confusion among members.

When contacted for comment, RFEA spokeswoman Magretia Brown-Engelbrecht referred to a statement the employers issued on Tuesday.

She confirmed they left negotiations after unions "shifted the goalposts", and accused the unions of "negotiating in bad faith".

White returned the accusation and said it was the employers who had reneged on their previous offer.