Intense anti-unionism grips bus operators

Workers in the public transport sector have accused their employers of firing them as punishment for joining the Transport and Allied Workers Union. The Chairman of the union, Kgomotso Panye, alleges that he was treated like a common criminal when his employer, JNG Express, sent police officers to forcibly remove him from a bus in full view of passengers.

"I was driving the bus, which was full of passengers, to Gantsi in February," Panye says. "The police signalled for me to stop. They then came over and told me to surrender the bus because the owner did not want me to drive his bus any more. Earlier on, he (the owner) had told me to my face that he did not want anyone to join the union. So when he found out that I was its chairman, he got very upset."