Johannesburg - Striking workers, led by transport union Utatu have not completely disrupted rail services, Metrorail's parent company, the Passenger Rail Agency of SA, said on Monday.
Prasa, Shosholoza Meyl, Autopax (trading as City to City and Translux) and Intersite, met on Monday to asses the impact of the strike action.
"We can report the complete disruption of Metrorail services planned by the United Transport and Allied Trade Union did not materialise.
"Metrorail's train service performance for the morning peak (5:00 to 8:00), stood at 80% of its regular service," spokesperson Tiro Holele said.
Gauteng South operated at 93%, Gauteng North operated at 89%, Durban at 70%, while Cape Town was affected more than the other regions at 31%.
"In terms of the contingency plan, Metrorail was going to run a reduced service of 476 trains, but instead ran over 529 trains. We are satisfied with the performance of the teams.
"At the heart of our ability to deliver these services during the morning peak service, was the fact that the overwhelming majority of employees did not heed the strike call by Utatu.
"Of the 8 111 employees who were scheduled to work this morning, 7 188 reported for duty - only 923 employees heeded the call by Utatu. The numbers clearly indicate that Utatu's action doesn't enjoy the support of its 3 071 members within Metrorail," he said.
Satawu distances itself
"Prasa is satisfied that it has done everything it possibly could have done to avoid the strike and regrets that these efforts did not yield the desired outcome."
Earlier Transport union Satawu distanced itself from the countrywide strike after reaching an agreement with the commuter rail service.
"Satawu wishes to confirm that it is not party to the current strike at Metrorail as a result of having signed an agreement which secured an eight percent [increase]," SA Transport Workers' Union general secretary Randall Howard said in a statement.
Howard said Satawu respected the right of Utatu to strike but said its claims that Metrorail was running at 30% capacity were untrue.
"It was regrettable that Utatu chose to pursue a strike action against the background of being prepared to sign off on seven percent, while it had managed to get eight," Howard said.
Train drivers started the countrywide strike on Monday morning after salary talks with Metrorail collapsed. Workers picketed outside the company's offices in Durban, Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Utatu represented between 2 500 and 2 800 Metrorail workers - train drivers and most of the administration staff, including ticket sellers.
The union's spokesperson Pieter Greyling said workers had left their posts and would continue picketing outside Metrorail's regional offices on Tuesday morning.
Metrorail spokesperson in the Western Cape, Rianna Scott, said trains were running between 60 and 90 minutes apart.
"We expect the situation to be the same tomorrow [Tuesday]. If commuters need to get to work or an exam on time, we suggest that they use alternative transport, such as a minibus taxi or a bus," Scott said.
Commuters with weekly or monthly tickets could use the Golden Bus Services at certain times.
Greyling said there were no talks between parties at present, but the union hoped there would be pressure from the public for a speedy resolution to the dispute.
- Sapa