NTA SET TO STRIKE IN CAPE TOWN

DORIANNE ARENDSE

The National Taxi Alliance in the Western Cape is set to go on strike by late next week following a breakdown in talks with the City of Cape Town on the Integrated Rapid Transit System (IRT). Speaking to VOC News on Wednesday the spokesman for the Western Cape National Taxi Alliance said the decision was taken earlier this week at a meeting held by the NTA.

"A decision was taken on Tuesday that the Western Cape National Taxi Alliance needs to go on strike seeing that there is no response from the Mayor Dan Plato. We are waiting on the Mayor to come back to us and say gentlemen this is what we must do," said Mente.

He said the decision must be endorsed by the national office of the NTA at a meeting that will be held on 24th and 25th November 2009. After the decision is endorsed by the national office it is likely that the strike will take place between 26th and 27th November provided that no changes to the decision are made by the NTA's head office. Mente added that the strike action will be indefinite.

The NTA earlier this month consulted with its members in the Western Cape on possible strike action as well as the broader community. Mente said they were also "consulting with various communities in the Western Cape on the strike action such as Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and Gugulethu".

Consultation

Mente said that the communities which they have consulted are of the opinion that the strike action proposed by the NTA should go ahead. "They all say that when one does not want to talk to one another then there is a disease of our leadership whereby the leadership does not talk to you if you are opposing and you want to engage them in talks. So our people know that and they are saying that they cannot to tell us not to strike," said Mente.

When asked if the communities which were consulted by the NTA were prepared to be left stranded by the strike Mente said: "They are prepared for that. If you look at what is happening in Gauteng we are hearing that the IRT there is experiencing problems, because there are no people jumping on those busses."


Meanwhile when VOC spoke to the City of Cape Town earlier this month about the strike action the Media Manager for the City Kylie Hatton said they will not tolerate any call to strike action as it negatively impacts on the commuters of Cape Town.