More than 7 000 pupils in the Western Cape were stranded yesterday after
their transportation services came to a standstill. Service providers for pupils
downed tools because of complaints over agreement negotiations with the Western
Cape Education Department (WCED). The pupils were unable to attend school
because numerous parents had not been warned about the strike.
Chaleen Arendse officer, for Women on Farms Project
programme said pupils across the Cape Winelands had been left waiting for
transport that never arrived. Arendse said, nobody was informed, and parents
who were able to organize transport to school did not do so. “Numerous parents
alternative transport could cost anything from R400 per month, which some could
not manage to pay. An additional worrying tendency was the condition of the
transport’’, said she.
Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa’s, Dawid
Kamfer said that he had been flooded with calls from anxious parents, as far as
Riversdal in the Southern Cape. ‘’Drivers were striking over disagreements
over contracts and a tender being advertised by the WCED’’ said he.
Bronagh Hammond, WCED spokesperson said the
department was informed late on Monday that the South African Small Bus
Operators Council (Sansboc) would suspend all pupil transport services under
its council. “We have yet to collate statistics from all circuits across the Western
Cape. In Metro East, Metro North and West Coast District, pupils from 40
schools were affected, with nonattendance levels of more than 7000 pupils. “Pupils
as young as five were left stranded on dark and unsafe roads this morning and, the
WCED had yet to obtain statistics from schools across the Cape Winelands,
therefore the number of absent pupils could be higher’’ said Hammond.
She said Sansboc’s main complaint related to the
WCED’s advertising short-term contracts. Hammond said the WCED wrote to
Sansboc’s lawyers to explain the details for the short-term pupil transport
contracts, and that five-year contracts had been advertised until the end of
October, leaving potential service providers plenty time to prepare bids.
Pravin Singh, Sansboc spokesperson said the strike
was a last resort to bring the WCED to the negotiating table. “This was the
only way for us to get them to the table in order to explain how their
five-year and would be detrimental to operators. “Despite the WCED not approving
to withdraw the tender, we have decided not to let pupils suffer tomorrow,”
said Singh.
By: Ellouise Muller
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