JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) has accused the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) of dishonesty and a lack of transparency prior to embarking on its ongoing Section 189 retrenchment process. The union alleges that critical information was withheld before the state-owned passenger rail entity initiated staff reductions.
The retrenchment process officially began in November 2025 and is expected to conclude by the end of August 2026. Affected workers were initially issued retrenchment notices in October 2025. While the process initially earmarked 580 employees for dismissal due to what Prasa described as severe financial and operational constraints, that number has since been reduced to 227.
Following a deadlock in consultative negotiations at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) between February and April of this year, SATAWU spokesperson Amanda Tshemese confirmed that further consultation processes with Transnet are currently underway. These engagements aim to ensure that employees who were not retrenched can be successfully redeployed.
“The Minister of Transport intervened and a task team was established to deal with Section 189, and we have since been able to place 102 employees within Prasa,” Tshemese stated.
Despite this progress, Tshemese noted that 227 employees remain affected by the cuts. Of that group, 52 are in critical grades, and 41 have acquired various qualifications during their employment. She added that there is still no finality on engagements with Transnet Operating Companies (TOCs), as these workers cannot currently be accommodated.
SATAWU has expressed deep dissatisfaction with how the retrenchment process has unfolded, arguing that all possible alternatives to job losses were not adequately explored.
Tshemese directed sharp criticism at the rail entity’s leadership, demanding that Prasa management explain and take accountability for why long-distance trains are currently not operating.
“Workers cannot be responsible for that,” Tshemese asserted. “It cannot be acceptable that it is now the workers that are going to be retrenched and lose their jobs when it’s the management that failed to do their jobs.”
Addressing Prasa’s financial justifications, Tshemese acknowledged the state-owned entity’s claims that it is not generating sufficient revenue, that the wage bill is taking a toll on the business, and that the company is losing millions of rands on a daily basis. However, she maintained that this does not absolve management of its operational failures.
In a separate statement, the Department of Transport confirmed that a Section 189 task team was appointed specifically to limit the number of employees affected by the restructuring. The department noted that 43 employees have already accepted early retrenchment packages, which took effect at the beginning of August.
Consultations and redeployment efforts are expected to continue as the August 2026 conclusion deadline approaches.