Unions at commuter bus company Putco have accepted a wage settlement agreement and said its members had returned to work on Tuesday.

One of the unions, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA, (Numsa), said there was a work stoppage at Putco which was sparked by the nonpayment of the 6% increase as well as the nonpayment of bonuses by the company since the collective agreement was signed in April 2020 with the SA Road Passenger Bargaining Council.

Numsa, together with other unions,  said it met Putco management under the auspices of the CCMA on Tuesday to give a final response to the settlement proposal which was made by Putco management on Sunday.

 Numsa said Putco proposed a wage settlement and it is broken down in the following way:

—     Putco will implement a 6% wage increase on October 1 2022 for all employees who were employed from April 1 2020 and for those who are still employed by the company at the conclusion of this wage agreement. The increase will not be backdated.

—    The annual bonus of 2020 will be paid by Putco to all employees who were employed by the company by April 1 2020, spread equally over a period of 18 months, starting at the end of October 2022.

 —    A one-off payment of R5,000 per employee inside the bargaining unit will be paid in two instalments at the end of November 2022 and the end of February 2023 in lieu of back pay for all employees who were in service of the company on April 1 2020.

 —   Once the settlement agreement has been signed, Putco will inform the bargaining council that the company and the unions have reached an agreement as full and final settlement of the 2020 Putco exemption application.

 —   The dismissal of 105 employees for misconduct during the unprotected strike in September 2022 will stand, but the individuals will have the opportunity to lodge an internal appeal by no later than Friday.

 “Numsa signed the settlement agreement today and workers will resume their duties as of today.”

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