Johannesburg - Striking Metrorail workers have until Friday to obey a court interdict and return to work, the company said on Thursday.
"If they do not come back to work they will be dismissed," Metrorail Gauteng regional manager Nozipho Sangweni told reporters in Johannesburg.
She said Metrorail and the SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu) were in discussions until late on Wednesday night.
Union leaders were given until Thursday to convince their members to return to work and "inform them of the implications of refusing", said Metrorail human resources manager Nonhlanhla Ranape.
Sangweni said employees who refused to return to work would be fired.
The strike began on Monday when Satawu members refused to work as scheduled under a new roster which they said would cause job losses and harm to employees.
This was preceded by 195 workers on Sunday refusing to work under the new roster. They were then fired on Monday.
By Tuesday, Satawu spokesperson Zenzo Mhlangu said the union's members, 66% of Metrorail's workforce, had joined the strike.
Union representatives were then served with a court interdict compelling their members back to work pending a February 12 appearance at the Labour Court.
"In terms of the interdict... Satawu must inform their members to get back to work on the shifts as scheduled," said Metrorail employee relations specialist Sello Maluleka.
Mhlangu said that Wednesday's meeting concerned the fate of the 195 workers who have already been fired. Sangweni said they would be able to return to their positions provided they sign 12-month "final" disciplinary letters.
Excessive amounts of overtime
Sangweni said on Thursday that only about 35% of the workforce had joined the strike but acknowledged that service capacity had dropped below 50% in some areas. She said the strike was costing Metrorail R30m a day in lost revenue.
Sangweni said the issue of the rosters was one of scheduling and overtime.
She said that for as long as 20 years, Metrorail had been paying excessive amounts of overtime to the point where an employee whose salary was R12 000 could be earning more than R8 000 in additional overtime.
This was caused by inefficiencies in the duty roster where employees were required to report to work hours before they were due to begin driving trains.
This overtime caused health problems for train drivers, safety risks and an undue financial burden.
"If you have unmotivated overtime then your own [train drivers'] health is in jeopardy and our safety standards are in danger," said Sangweni.
"The company is fighting for efficiency and the survival of the business."
The new roster would cut overtime by 50% while reassigning working trains to busier routes, said Maluleka.
However, employees took issue because so many had grown accustomed to the overtime and were about to see a major decrease in their take-home pay.
"The bottom line is that when you pull the trains it is going to hit the guy who is driving the train in the pocket," said Sangweni.
Despite the strike, Metrorail management maintain they still had a good relationship with Satawu.
"[But] between management and unions we will not always have agreement," said Sangweni.
"It will take time for us to see the same picture."
- Sapa