Commuter bus company Putco intends laying off more than 300 employees due to a decline in revenue and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government-subsidised bus service that transports millions of passengers every day, mainly in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, is involved in a section 189 process that is being facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
Putco spokesperson Matlakala Motloung said they were laying off workers due to a loss of passengers and revenue. “The number of jobs affected is not finalised as it must take into cognisance natural attrition such as deaths, retirement and resignations,” Motloung said.
She said they had presented a number of proposals that could have helped to avoid retrenchments – including reducing overtime, introducing flexible working hours and early retirement – but these were rejected by the unions.
Motloung said they were still consulting with the unions and a final decision had not been taken.
SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) passenger bus national coordinator Solomon Mahlangu said they were opposed to any job losses as they believed Putco could do more to avert them.
“We've seen retrenchments affecting 300 workers at Putco in 2018, and now barely three years [later] we are seeing another section 189 process in which they initially indicated that 600 jobs would be on the line,” Mahlangu said.
He said though the number of affected jobs had been reduced to 329, they believed that one job loss is one too many in the context of the high unemployment rate in the country.
Putco services routes to Pretoria from the Thembisile Hani and Dr JS Moroka municipalities in Mpumalanga using the Moloto Road, and from a number of areas in the Elias Motsoaledi municipality in Limpopo. It also has a number of Gauteng routes, including routes linking Soweto with areas north of Johannesburg.
Last year, Putco went to the SA Road Passenger Bargaining Council to apply for an exemption after indicating that it was unable to pay the 6% salary increase agreed on in the chamber.
Gary Wilson, general secretary of the bargaining council, said their exemption panel granted Putco a 50% exemption on the salary increase.
“It [Putco] was granted the partial exemption on November 30 and that was appealed by Numsa [National Union of Metalworkers of SA] and Satawu. We've sent that to the appeal panel, which we expect will rule shortly,” Wilson said.
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