Workers at South Africa’s state-owned logistics firm Transnet will go on strike from Thursday over a wage dispute, two labour unions said, in a move that could halt the export of key minerals and other cargo.
The United National Transport Union (UNTU), the biggest labour union at the company, said it had served notice to begin industrial action on Thursday.
In recent years, the cost of living has soared in Africa’s most developed economy, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in prices of items like bread due to global supply chain disruptions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Transnet has consistently made the point that its wage bill currently makes up over 66 percent of monthly operating costs.
This is not sustainable, particularly given the current operational and financial performance,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.