Task team extends search for Prasa job alternatives

The ministerial task team appointed by transport minister Barbara Creecy in June to explore alternatives to retrenchments affecting 580 workers at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has resulted in 43 workers taking early retirement packages.

Another 102 staff have been matched and placed in vacancies across the rail operator’s departments and divisions.

Transport department national spokesperson Collen Msibi said 208 protection services employees had been “ring-fenced pending the conclusion of engagements with Transnet regarding the transfer of stations and related assets”.

A formal notice for the transfer of assets has been issued, “and the parties are working to conclude the process as soon as possible. The task team’s mandate has been extended until the end of August to explore alternatives to the remaining 227 employees”.

The United National Transport Union (Untu) and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), the two largest unions at Prasa, had criticised the planned retrenchments which Prasda said was due to “severe financial and operational constraints” at its long-distance passenger rail operations.

Both unions have been approached for comment on the latest development but have yet to respond.

Business Day reported last month that in a document sent to employees Prasa said certain rail corridors had remained inactive for extended periods, leaving employees unable to perform productive work while continuing to receive full remuneration.

“After exhausting all reasonable alternatives, retrenchment was adopted as a last resort,” Prasa said.

Business Day understands that the Shosholoza Meyl service has not been operating at full capacity as a result. Prasa was allocated R5.8bn in February as part of the government’s efforts to modernise the passenger rail operator’s fleet and improve commuter rail services.

The programme is intended to boost annual passenger trips from 77-million to between 250-million and 450-million over the medium term.

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has said the special appropriation included R1.8bn earmarked for Prasa to help meet its contractual obligations under its agreement with Gibela. The rail transport consortium comprising Alstom and uBumbano Rail was established in 2013, as a ring-fenced company to execute Prasa’s rolling-stock fleet-renewal programme.

Labour union Untu recently provisionally withdrew its application to halt the retrenchment process from the labour court roll to give the task team time to explore alternatives to retrenchments.

Prasa, which has a track network of more than 2,280km, has been plagued by ageing infrastructure, vandalism, unreliability and ineffectiveness, fraud, corruption and safety concerns.

The entity launched a general overhaul programme in 2022 at a cost of R7.5bn, of which R3.48bn had been spent by the end of March 2025.