Commuters can breath a sigh of relief after the much anticipated taxi shutdown was called off.
The strike, announced on Thursday, was called off on Sunday afternoon after urgent intervention by premier Oscar Mabuyane, and after the provincial transport department had promised to pay the R73m it had owed to scholar transport service providers since November.
The strike over unpaid scholar transport operators would have affected not only education, but the economy of the province as well, as the SA National Taxi Council and the Eastern Cape Bus Operators Council (Ecboc) were to embark on a total shutdown, allowing nobody to ferry passengers going to work or school.
Operators have been at loggerheads with the provincial government over the outstanding invoices.
The stand-off between the department and service operators had threatened the 103,000 pupils benefiting from scholar transport.
The decision to call off the strike came after Mabuyane met behind closed doors with Santaco leaders, various taxi and bus associations, and scholar transport operators in Mthatha at the weekend.
After the meeting with Mabuyane, industry leaders, led by Santaco provincial chair Zola Bishop Yolelo, held a meeting at the OR Tambo Hall in Mthatha on Sunday, where the decision to halt the planned action was communicated.
They agreed to give Mabuyane seven days, starting Monday, to resolve the matter.
Yolelo and Ecboc secretary Manelisi Siguqa said Mabuyane had made a commitment that everyone would be paid within seven days. Yolelo said failure by Mabuyane to meet this commitment would lead to the shutdown of the whole province, “until the last penny is paid to those who have provided services”.
Mabuyane confirmed on Sunday that a truce had been called.
He confirmed that the decision had come after he met with the industry players on Friday.
“We noted their genuine concerns and I committed to come closer to the situation,” he said.
Source: https://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2022-02-21-taxi-shutdown-suspended/
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