“This serves as a formal declaration by Transnet Port Terminals, an operating division of Transnet SOC Ltd, of the occurrence of an event of force majeure to all our customers following the strike action declared by the two recognised unions within Transnet, namely Satawu and Untu, anticipated to commence on 6 October 2022,” the email reads. 

“The strike has been declared against the offered wage increases by Transnet SOC Ltd for the new financial year, as well as the fact that no wage increases were approved for the current financial year,” it said.

A force majeure means that, because of events outside a company’s control, it cannot meet its contractual obligations to customers, clients and the like. 

“At this time, we anticipate that portions of our operations will be scaled down. However, and to the extent possible, we will attend to invoke contingency plans and source external stand-in/temporary resources to ensure that the operations continue across the various terminals,” the email reads. 

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“Transnet Port Terminals is open to having consultations with customers who are willing to engage with our executive team to find practical means aimed at overcoming the effect of this force majeure event to ensure acceptable levels of our respective performance and contractual obligations and cargo.” 

On Thursday afternoon at the Joburg Mining Indaba, Transnet CEO Portia Derby responded to a question about the strike’s impact: “The sad truth is that if the whole of Transnet is on strike, our mitigations are to protect our people, protect our assets.”

She reiterated that Transnet regarded it as an “illegal strike”. 

The state-owned enterprise is struggling on a range of fronts and operating well below capacity, a point underlined at the indaba on Wednesday when Roger Baxter, the CEO of the Minerals Council SA, said South Africa had lost R50-billion in exports of bulk commodities like coal and iron ore so far in 2022 as a result of Transnet’s woes. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Flailing Transnet has cost South Africa R50bn in lost mineral exports this year” 

A protracted strike will have considerable economic consequences, including the further curtailment of exports and the hard currency inflows they bring, as well as more snags in supply chains, which will delay imports. DM/BM