Transnet workers were victims of 'co-ordinated attacks'

Numsa workers are allegedly intimidating Transnet's workers who have refused to join their strike action at Ngqura Container Terminal. Image: Numsa

The company said homes belonging to "colleagues" were petrol-bombed‚ while two vehicles‚ also belonging to non-striking workers‚ were torched.

This follows two incidents of stoning of houses in Motherwell‚ a suburb of Port Elizabeth. Transnet had earlier said this seemed "like a co-ordinated campaign of terror and intimidation".

"The latest incidents brought the number of attacks to 28 in the six weeks since up to 150 Numsa workers downed tools in April‚" Transnet said.

"The majority of our colleagues do not belong to Numsa. Transnet condemns in the strongest possible terms the resumption of acts of thuggery‚ violence and lawlessness against our colleagues who are exercising their right not to take part in the five-week old strike action‚" the company said.

"All the cases have been reported to the police and Transnet‚ working with the provincial police commissioner‚ has heightened security at all its facilities in the area to protect its employees," the company added.

Transnet said that Numsa had organised a mass meeting in Port Elizabeth‚ where it "vowed to intensify action against the utility".

But Numsa's Eastern Cape regional secretary‚ Phumzile Nodongwe‚ said late that a meeting organised by the union in Port Elizabeth‚ and attended by about 500 people‚ was only to update union members about the strike.

He was not able to confirm at the time whether violence had resurfaced‚ but did confirm that the strike would continue.