Pretoria - Parties in the Transnet pay dispute are to meet with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), said trade union South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) on Thursday.
"The CCMA's senior commissioner will meet separately with parties today," said Satuwu policy researcher Jane Barrett.
This as the strike over wages at Transnet enters day four. The union together with the United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu), which joined protests on Wednesday, are demanding a 15 percent wage increase. This after Transnet increased its original offer of 8 percent to 11 percent across the board.
The strike has among others led to the arrest of some workers in Durban and allegations of violence as well as allegations of sabotage after a train transporting fuel from the coast to Johannesburg derailed on Wednesday.
Transnet said the incident suggested very strongly that "perpetrators had intimate knowledge of the infrastructure."
Utatu general secretary Chris de Vos said: "There have been some unfortunate incidents. But the focus should rather be on the 40 000 Transnet workers who are striking legitimately - not the few who are behaving irresponsibly."
Meanwhile, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the strike was having an impact on many facets of the country.
"We've had discussions with Transnet. They have told us that they have reduced the number of trains they operate from 800 a day to 100 a day which is a huge drop in activity," SACCI's executive advisor to its CEO Peggy Drodskie told BuaNews.
"This could possibly affect petrol and diesel coming to Gauteng from Durban," said Drodskie, adding that the strike was costing the country millions.
She said that as a result of the strike, coal exports through Richards Bay had virtually come to a standstill while the container terminal in Durban was not operating.
"This means that perishables in containers are likely to rot and that ships cannot load and offload cargo. There are huge delays in ports," explained Drodskie.
She added that the wage increase demanded by the unions was high. "The increase they are seeking is very high, double that of inflation which is below 6 percent," she said.
A mass march is scheduled for Johannesburg on Friday. Transnet was not immediately available for comment.
