GEORGE NEWS - No taxi strike is expected until at least Monday 28 August. The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) for the Western Cape is getting legal advice on the present situation and negotiations with the relevant authorities are ongoing.
For the past few days things were back to normal and commuters were able to get to work and school. Although last week's strike affected Cape Town the most, it also had a disruptive impact in George.
Gershon Geyer, vice-chairperson of Santaco Western Cape, told George Herald they understand the strike was disruptive but they had no other choice.
He said they feel victimised. There were cases where taxis were impounded for relatively minor offenses such as not wearing safety belts.
They had planned to strike in February already, but a new MEC for transport was appointed in the Western Cape at that time and they were asked to discuss the challenges. The main issue was the impounding of the taxis. While a meeting was held, he said, the real issues weren't discussed. Santaco felt that the goalposts were being shifted all the time.
He said the dispute is actually between Santaco and the city of Cape Town. Santaco believes it could affect other regions in the province as well, and all the members went on strike in solidarity with its members in Cape Town.
He said Santaco will not strike for two weeks as from Monday 14 August, unless something drastic happens. In the meantime the negotiations are ongoing and Santaco is seeking legal advice.
Dr Willie Cilliers, chairperson of the George Business Chamber, said the feedback they got from their members was that the strike was disruptive.
Employees could not get to work and it was probably disruptive for production as well. Informal trading in townships were also badly affected.
He said traffic laws apply to all road users. Cilliers appealed to the taxi organisation to ask its members to obey all traffic laws.
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