Tshwane taxi strike suspended

The planned Tshwane taxi strike has been suspended‚ the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) said on Monday.

“There is no strike because taxi owners decided that they would not be releasing their taxis after taxi drivers said they would be using taxis to blockade roads‚” Santaco Tshwane spokesperson Thabisho Molelekwa said.

Molelekwa said there had been no disruptions on Monday in Tshwane and that they would continue to monitor the situation through out the week.

“What we can assure our commuters is that we will make sure the strike doesn’t happen.”

He said taxi drivers were demanding that their traffic fines be scrapped because they were battling to pay them as they were accumulating and preventing them from renewing their driver’s licences and Professional Driving Permits (PDPs).

“They complain that they are harshly judged and can’t afford to pay the fines. We accept their argument that they are harshly judged. What it is in dispute is that we do not agree that all traffic fines should be scrapped because some drivers get fines for reckless driving and we do not promote recklessness‚” Molelekwa said.

“We are saying that the fines are an individual problem and should not affect the industry‚” he added.

Meanwhile‚ a minibus taxi strike in Cape Town turned violent on Monday.