N3 truck strike: Freight Association to intervene
The SA Freight association says it is now intervening in the on-and-off N3 truck drivers' strike in the hopes of finding a lasting solution.
This week, between 60 and 70 trucks blocked both directions of the busy N3 highway in the vicinity of Van Reenen's pass. Drivers were complaining about a number of issues including pay and the employment of foreign national drivers.
The protest resulted in a massive traffic backlog in excess of 10km in both directions. Authorities worked for hours to tow the abandoned heavy good vehicles away.
The Freight Association's Gavin Kelly says they will work to establish the legitimacy of grievances and ways of addressing them effectively.
"We have got to work if this foreign driver issue really an issue. Then we have to find out who the guys who are treating their drivers badly and are not payin the minimums, not paying what is on the agreement and not treating drivers fairly in terms of driving hours, rest period allowance etc.", he said.
"We will then identify these employers and once this has been done the council may be able to deal with them", Kelly said.