DESPITE their jobs being on the line, Putco drivers have vowed to continue with their unprotected strike until they are paid their 2020 bonuses.
They were also demanding a 6% increase.
On Tuesday, 6 September, Putco said the striking employees had until the end of Wednesday, 7 September, to return to work or face being dismissed.
But this didn’t seem to move the employees a bit. They said they’d rather get fired!
Phumlani Ndlovu, who is representing the workers, said: “The company must dismiss us, but the truth is that we are owed.
“We are continuing with the strike and it is now getting worse.
“We heard that one person in Pretoria was killed as a result of the strike. It is getting ugly.”
Ndlovu vowed that if the company fired them, they would have to shut it down.
On Wednesday, bus workers blocked the entrance of the Dobsonville Depot as well as the Pennyville Depot with burning tyres and rocks.
Last week, the company said the matter of the salary increase was still in the Labour Court, but the workers said they would not wait for the court to finalise the matter.
About the protection of the workers who are not on strike, spokesman Lindokuhle Xulu said the company roped in a security company to help.
“The security company is on high alert. Here in New Canada, people were stopped from entering the premises.
“The police are also here and our security company is here to make sure that people are not intimidated,” he said.
