
Are unions treating the state like an endless ATM? Rethinking the Transnet wage deal.
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Guest: Busi Mavuso – CEO, Business Leadership South Africa
In this gripping conversation, Busi Mavuso unpacks the fallout of Transnet’s recent wage agreement with unions, a 6% annual increase for the next three years amid a weak economy and mounting state debt. With inflation hovering at just 2.7% and GDP growth at a sluggish 1.4%, she argues that this deal not only reflects a breakdown of leadership, but also exposes the country to a dangerous cycle of economic blackmail and unsustainable bailouts.
We explore urgent questions: How do we balance worker rights with economic realities? Are unions at state-owned enterprises like Transnet helping or hindering national recovery? And what structural reforms are needed to fix a logistics system that, according to some estimates, is costing South Africa R1 billion per day?
In this gripping conversation, Busi Mavuso unpacks the fallout of Transnet’s recent wage agreement with unions, a 6% annual increase for the next three years amid a weak economy and mounting state debt. With inflation hovering at just 2.7% and GDP growth at a sluggish 1.4%, she argues that this deal not only reflects a breakdown of leadership, but also exposes the country to a dangerous cycle of economic blackmail and unsustainable bailouts.
We explore urgent questions: How do we balance worker rights with economic realities? Are unions at state-owned enterprises like Transnet helping or hindering national recovery? And what structural reforms are needed to fix a logistics system that, according to some estimates, is costing South Africa R1 billion per day?