Bus strike to intensify: Satawu

A nationwide bus strike will be intensified after Satawu rejected a bargaining council proposal, the union said on Thursday.

"There are no new developments in the strike; it is still going on and we will intensify our efforts," SA Transport Workers' Union (Satawu) spokesman Vincent Masoga said.

Commuter Bus Employers' Organisation spokesman Barry Gie said no talks were planned with unions "anytime soon".

"We are now taking instructions on how to proceed," he said.

Masoga said on Tuesday the proposal would not be discussed with workers.

"The proposal has nothing exciting [in it]. We have looked at it and it doesn't meet the criteria to be discussed," he said.

Gie said on Monday that the bargaining council tabled the proposal on Friday.

On Friday Gie said employers increased their offer from 6.5% to eight percent, across the board, for workers earning R23.50 an hour or less, and to 7.5% for those earning more.

He said unions reduced their demand from 18 to 13 percent. However, Masoga said at the time the union had reverted to its former demands after the talks deadlocked.