A PLANNED demonstration by truck drivers in South Africa to push their government to ban drivers from foreign countries has been suspended indefinitely.
The All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa (ATDF-ASA) is accusing foreign drivers, including Zimbabweans, of taking their jobs. Zimbabwean drivers constitute a significant number of foreigners who are driving freight trucks in South Africa.
A similar demonstration a few years ago turned violent leading to deaths of foreign drivers, while trucks worth thousands of United States dollars were torched after an ATDF-ASA national shutdown was conducted in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga, among other provinces in South Africa.
Media reports from South Africa said government’s national joint security team on Sunday this week urged freight drivers to communicate their grievances within the confines of the law, adding that lawlessness would not be tolerated.
“There will be zero tolerance towards threats, intimidation and closure of our roads. Law enforcement agencies are on high alert to ensure there are no criminal activities and law-abiding citizens are not inconvenienced,” the team said in a statement.
ATDF-ASA is opposing the employment of non-South African drivers, while calling for the departments of labour and home affairs to conduct regular inspections to enforce this.
The group announced on Friday last week that it would be conducting a national shutdown to protest against foreign drivers.
“Bring back our jobs, South Africans first. ATDF-ASA and South African drivers are fed up with this government with empty promises. National shutdown, tools down to all drivers until this government meets our demands. Date 20 May 2024,” read a post from the group last week.
- SA truckers suspend protest over foreign drivers
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“We want zero foreigners in the trucking industry.”
The forum confirmed that the protest planned for yesterday had been temporarily suspended following an urgent meeting with stakeholders on Sunday.
Meanwhile, an association representing drivers from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) region said it was closely monitoring the situation.
Sadc Drivers Association representative Edward Muchatuta on Sunday said they were mobilising structures in the region to protect South Africa-registered truck drivers.
“If the ATDF-ASA starts attacking other drivers then our structures will stop all South Africa-registered drivers from moving to protect our members from being attacked. We are also not going to guarantee safety to any driver who may move any South Africa-registered truck when any Sadc driver is attacked in that country,” he said.
“We call on the ATDF-ASA to engage other drivers in the region and stop being used by politicians. As Sadc drivers and workers in general we should unite and fight capitalists as a unity. Fighting among each other will prolong the struggle as our factions will defend their territories, a development which will worsen the [exploitation] of the worker,” he added.
