Компания Putco перевела более 340 водителей автобусов из временных контрактов в штатные должности

Putco, which operates a fleet of 1,400 buses and transports more than 210,000 passengers daily across Gauteng, Mpumalanga and parts of Limpopo, has agreed to convert more than 340 contract worker posts into permanent positions in the bus company. This means the workers would be entitled to benefits such as a provident or pension fund and healthcare benefits, as well as the right to join a union of their choice. They would also be covered by labour legislation providing for minimum wages, unemployment benefits and financial and medical support for employees who suffer work-related injuries, disabilities or illnesses, as well as support for families in the event of a work-related death. Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said the move came after its intervention at the South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council (Sarpbac), where employers and labour discuss and agree on conditions of employment and wages. “Significantly, this dismantles a business model that treats the working class as objects to be exploited rather than human beings. Numsa welcomes this concrete victory against the deliberate use of casualisation of the workforce in the public transport sector,” Jim said. “For years, Putco has exploited South Africa’s crisis of mass unemployment [now at more than 33.6% according to Stats SA] by using temporary, fixed-term contracts as a revolving door for access to cheap labour. “This has kept over 400 workers trapped on temporary contracts for years, some for more than three years.” Jim said the now permanent workers include driver conductors, auto electrical operatives, bus cleaners, shunter drivers, tyre attendants and workshop staff. The permanent appointments directly affect workers across Putco’s core operations, including depots and facilities in Soweto, Soshanguve, Roseville and the Tshwane Auto Manufacturing (TAM) hub. “Numsa’s case at Sarpbac will proceed without compromise to compel Putco to grant full permanent status to the remaining 77 affected employees,” he said. “Putco intentionally exploited the vast pool of unemployed workers to undermine job security, lower wages, and prevent workers from organising effectively in their sector.” Under section 198B of the Labour Relations Act, engaging workers on fixed-term contracts for longer than three months without a legitimate operational reason is illegal. “Yet employers have the audacity to routinely bypass the law until trade unions such as Numsa intervene.” Jim said the “victory” proved that “precarity is not an inevitable or a natural economic law for workers and the working class. It is a deliberate strategy designed to squeeze value out of the working class.” He accused employers of relying on a “divided, precarious workforce to keep labour costs low. Organised labour — through the trade union — exists to break that cycle.” Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu said it was “regrettable that Numsa has presented the permanent appointment of 349 employees as a victory for its intervention”. “The decision was taken independently by Putco, based on the level of service currently being operated. In 2023, Putco secured seven-year contracts, with the Gauteng department of roads and transport expected to phase in the service over 18 months,” Xulu said. “The employees were not made permanent immediately because the implementation of these contracts was affected by ongoing disputes with the department, including attempts to change and later cancel the contracts. In October 2024, the Pretoria high court ordered that the current level of service remain in place pending arbitration. “The continued operation at this level has given Putco some level of certainty, allowing the company to make the decision to permanently appoint these operational employees. The appointments are therefore a Putco’s decision based on the current level of service and are not an outcome of Numsa’s intervention.” Xulu said contract employees were already receiving similar salaries to those of permanent employees. “The difference now is that Putco will contribute towards some of the benefits applicable to permanent employees, which is substantially the same amount as the salaries and cash allowance paid to contract workers. “This not only disputes the claim of the so-called ‘victimisation’ of contract employees but also shows that Putco stood to benefit nothing from keeping contract workers on a fixed-term basis.” In April, unions and employers in the bus sector reached a wage deal for increases of 5.5%. The lowest-paid employee in the bus sector took home R3,500 a month, while the highest-paid pocketed a monthly salary of R11,000. In 2024, the union secured a two-year wage deal in the bus sector for increases of 5% and 6.5% valid from April 1 2024 to March 31 2026. The agreement set a minimum hourly rate of R48.15 for the first year (2024) and R51.28 for the second year (2025–26). Satawu initially demanded a 15% across-the-board salary increase and a minimum wage of R12,000. In April 2023, Satawu signed a one-year wage agreement for the 2023-24 financial year, securing a 7% salary increase. Workers initially demanded an 8% wage hike. In 2022, a strike in the sector was averted when parties agreed to a 6% pay increase. Labour had initially sought 11%. In 2021, workers in the sector settled for a 4% increase after demanding 7.5%-8.5%, and in 2020, the sector implemented a 6% hike. Business Day