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“We didn’t think the strike would go into month end. We’re behind on our furniture installments. My wife only earns R3,500 and she has to support all seven of us now during the strike because it’s no work, no pay,” Putco bus driver Kadishi Gideon Maleka told Daily Maverick.<\/p>\n
He joined the bus strike for better pay when it began on 18 April<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maleka, 53, has been a commuter bus driver for 14 years. In the first 10 years of his career, he had to wake up at 02:00 every day to cover the first shift at 03:15, transporting commuters from his home area in KwaMhlanga in Mpumalanga to Pretoria.<\/p>\n Maleka is the breadwinner of his family, a father to seven children. While two of his children are employed, the others are still dependent on him, three of them still in school.<\/p>\n Maleka\u2019s family recently went through a tough time due to his wife being unemployed for months. Maleka had to take financial responsibility for everything.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was tough. I had to take care of school stuff for the children, transport, uniforms; also two of them are unemployed and stay at home so I take care of them too.\u201d<\/p>\n Maleka\u2019s wife found temporary employment through a three-month contract. But instead of boosting their family income, their finances took a blow due to the strike.<\/p>\n He says the family felt a huge sense of panic when month-end came along, the strike was still in full effect and they could not afford to pay their monthly furniture instalments.<\/p>\n Maleka\u2019s wife earns R3,500, approximately half of what Maleka earns. He says he is hopeful that the bus drivers\u2019 demands will soon be met by bus employers so that he can return to work, but things do not seem positive, with the strike not having full support of all bus employees.<\/p>\n Some bus companies are still in operation even though unions approached them to stand in solidarity with them, even if they are not unionised, in the hope that the strike would be more effective.<\/p>\n \u201cIt hurts to see them driving those buses. We feel very bad, but you know, I am a Christian, we are Christians so we don\u2019t believe in attacking them and violence. They think they\u2019re better than us because they are in their white shirts and their beautiful ties but we know that they actually are not better than us, they are worse,\u201d Maleka said.<\/p>\n Some of the demands requested by the five unions involved in the strike are for the long distance drivers to be paid when working shifts, even if they are not driving. Currently, drivers are only paid for their time behind the wheel. Maleka feels hurt that long-distance drivers aren\u2019t taking part in the strike because, he says, the demands requested, if met, will benefit all drivers.<\/p>\n Bus companies still in operation include Intercape, Eldo Coaches and Intercity Express.<\/p>\n The national bus strike began on 18 April with employees of approximately\u00a067 bus companies<\/u><\/a>\u00a0around South Africa protesting against poor working conditions and for better pay. Satawu(South African Transport and Allied Workers\u2019 Union)along with four other unions requested a minimum wage of R8,000 per month and an increment of 9.5% in the first year, and 8.5% in the second year.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/37ugp72ofspp25ltkb3ajwvg-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hlumela-bus-Kadishi-Gideon-Maleka.jpg\")
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