Metrobus ‘strike’ strands Joburg commuters

Close to 16,000 commuters in Johannesburg were left stranded on Wednesday and Thursday when Metrobus employees downed tools, citing unresolved grievances with the City of Johannesburg-owned bus company.

In a note on Wednesday, Metrobus said: “Due to an illegal strike by several employees of Metrobus, which commenced during the afternoon shift of January 31, bus operations were negatively affected, leading to significant inconvenience to our customers.

“Management is making every effort to ensure that services are restored as soon as possible. We apologise to all commuters for the inconvenience caused.”

The company said that due to the recommendations made after a security threat analysis, “both the Metrobus sales outlet and the nerve centre at Gandhi Square will be closed until further notice”.

But unions at the bus company denied they were on strike on Thursday, and only wanted a list of their grievances resolved by management.

Speaking to Sowetan sister publication Business Day on Thursday, SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) Joburg regional chair Ester Mtatyana said: “Metrobus is not on strike. Workers were merely having a general meeting and after that they went to the employer to get an update on their grievances. We are not on strike.”

The grievances, she said, stemmed from the new shift system the company has allegedly implemented without consulting labour, and a tender for a new fleet she said was withdrawn without explanation. Mtatyana said the company was effectively reducing its headcount without approaching unions.

From the metro’s budget of R80.9bn for 2023/24, Metrobus received R663m for operations and a three-year capital budget of R354m to buy new buses and to refurbish the engines and gearboxes of its current fleet, and to implement a cashless ticketing system.

Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) shop steward Sammy Singo said Metrobus employed about 500 bus drivers. The company has an estimated workforce of 900.

“We used to have 500 shifts, now there are 200 shifts; 300 have been cancelled and there was no communication with labour. We view this as a way of restructuring the company but you can’t do that without consultation with labour. That’s the problem we are facing now,” Singo said.

In 2021, Metrobus approached the courts to stop a costly four-week industrial action that resulted in the company losing up to R300,000 per day.

In October 2023, the Joburg metro launched Metrobus’s new intelligent transport system, which includes an automated fare collection system. 

Said to be the first of its kind in Africa, the state-of-the-art system also comprises Eye-on-the-Bus real-time monitoring of buses, and Wi-Fi for passengers. Eye-on-the-Bus allows Metrobus to track and locate buses, monitor fuel consumption and schedule maintenance efficiently.

Metrobus spokesperson Tshepo Nathan and Joburg transport member of the mayoral committee Kenny Kunene could not immediately be reached for comment.