Road freight operators say the strike by thousands of SARS workers is starting to affect movement of cargo at some of the country’s major ports of entry. Workers downed tools yesterday, demanding a 12% wage increase while the employer is offer a 1.3%. SARS has maintained that customs operations at ports of entry, especially borders, were without major interruptions.
Truck operators say they now face extended delays at the border posts. This is in addition to the ongoing disruption in the logistics chain. Truckers Association of South Africa President, Mary Phadi says operators cannot afford any more delays because of the dangers in having trucks parked at the port for a long time.
“The border post have you know problems because instead of taking a day to cross over it takes about 2-3 days and it’s got a criminal element in it,” says Phadi.
The Truckers Association says it is worried that goods that are time limited may be wasted.
“At the moment, the delay that we’ll be facing is going to affect the goods that we’re transporting. The goods that are limited, that must be there on time, for example the perishable goods, you cannot afford to stand when there’s already a congestion of two days and this situation is adding on another extra 3 days on top of it because you need now to deal with the current congestion that is already been piled up because of the strike,” Phadi explains.
Source: SABC News
