The eThekwini Municipality and Transnat have said they will take strong measures to prevent further bus strikes after drivers brought the city to a standstill on Monday morning.
Durban Transport bus drivers blockaded parts of the city, saying they had not been paid according to an agreement between them and the city made on Friday.
Around mid-morning, Metro Police spokesperson, Superintendent Sbonelo Mchunu, explained that the municipality could not pay salaries over the weekend which had led to the delay in payments.
In a joint statement with Transnat – the operator that runs Durban Transport – eThekwini Municipality said it had completed processing driver salaries by Monday afternoon.
“This was done to ensure the bus service would be operational and no further inconvenience would be caused to commuters. Normal bus operations are expected to resume as from this afternoon.
“Despite this agreement being in place, and the City having announced that it was to going to begin paying Transnat employees’ salaries... the company’s workers still went on strike... blockading routes into the Central Business District.
“The City and Transnat have resolved to request law enforcement agencies to take steps to ensure that such irresponsible, inconsiderate and unlawful acts do not recur in the future.
“We apologise to commuters for the inconvenience caused. Commuters will be informed about the resumption of the bus service through the media.”
Source News 24
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