A taxi industry organisation has condemned acts of intimidation of Pikitup workers and scholar transport operators in Gauteng.
Image: Jacques Naude / Independent Newspapers
One of the organisations representing the taxi industry has distanced itself from acts of intimidation that saw workers at the City of Johannesburg’s waste management utility, Pikitup, being prevented from going to work.
The two-day work stoppage caused a backlog in refuse collection in many parts of the city.
The National Taxi Alliance (NTA) condemned the operators, who it said need to learn to be competitive.
NTA spokesperson Theo Malele said there were loose cannons within the industry.
“We always encourage people to engage in constructive ways of resolving their differences. They just need to learn to be competitive,” he said.
Malele continued: “What they are currently doing is not right, if people are aggrieved, they have a right to report this to authorities and ensure that authorities intervene and bring about corrective measures.”
He added that the intimidation should not be happening. “We are not condoning this and we are distancing ourselves from such behaviour,” said Malele.
Last week, Pikitup announced that its employees in all depots stopped working and demanded the continuation of transport services that were previously provided for commuting between home and work.
The service that had been provided by the employer due to irregular working was forced to stop due to safety concerns raised after the taxi industry claimed that they are legally authorised to transport commuting employees.
In response to questions on whether the matter has been resolved, Pikitup’s Muzi Mkhwanazi referred further enquiries to the City of Johannesburg’s group head of legal and contracts Mbulelo Ruda, saying the transport issue has been escalated.
Nthatisi Modingoane of the City of Johannesburg did not respond to questions.
The Ekurhuleni Metro was this week forced to call for cooperation between taxi associations and scholar transport operators in the Kempton Park and Tembisa areas after claims of acts of intimidation were reported to Roads and Transport MMC Andile Mngwevu.
The municipality reminded taxi operators that in terms of the National Land Transport Act, under the transporting of scholars, students, teachers, and lecturers, all learner transport operators or organisations are independent and are not obligated to affiliate under any taxi association.
Mngwevu said the municipality received very concerning complaints from scholar transport operators regarding acts of intimidation and interference from members of taxi associations operating in its northern region.
“This is completely not acceptable and must be discouraged. We urge anyone involved in such acts to refrain from any acts of intimidation towards the scholar transport operators with immediate effect and maintain a respectful and considerate atmosphere for the safety of the industry and the children that are being transported,” Mngwevu appealed.
He added that the city and its provincial counterparts are committed to the peaceful movement of people across Gauteng.
The Ekurhuleni Metro deployed members of its metropolitan police department to vigilantly monitor the situation and indicated that no incidents had been reported again.
The SA National Taxi Council said it was aware of the Ekurhuleni incident but had not responded to questions.
loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za
