By: Natasha Archary
Putco assured commuters in Gauteng that it’s business as usual on Monday, despite the on-going driver strike.
Now entering its third week of disputes with striking drivers, Putco says buses will be full operational. Striking drivers have accused the company of violating the terms of a 2020 wage agreement.
The agreement stipulated that workers would be entitled to a 6% increase in 2020, but this was later changed to just 3%.
The deadlock has resulted in over 100 Putco employees being fired for misconduct, intimidation and barring the gates at the company’s depots.
Disgruntled workers are demanding that Putco makes good on the agreement and say they will continue striking until they receive what is owed to them.
In a statement, Putco assured commuters that buses will be fully operational on Monday.
“Valid and unused trips that expired during the illegal strike will not be forfeited. Passengers will get an extension on those trips. Passengers from Soweto and Eldorado Park will not be affected at all by the expiry dates due to the ordinarily long validity period of monthly tickets. Putco will offer discounts on the next ticket purchases.”“We once again apologise to our passengers for the inconvenience caused by the strike and would like to reiterate that reimbursements for unused trips will be processed by way of discounts and extended validity periods.”
Lindokuhle Xulu, spokesperson
Last week, Putco obtained a court interdict against striking workers for preventing passengers from getting on or off their buses.
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