Cosatu lays charges against Metrorail with Cape Town police
The Congress of South African Trade Unions in the Western Cape laid charges against Metrorail at Cape Town Central Police Station on Thursday.
At issue is the worsening situation of train transport in the city over the past ten years.
Cosatu is planning protest action and a national strike for September 27.
"Cosatu members depend on the trains and complain to us on a daily basis about the bad service. When the trains are late, workers lose production. The loss of production also makes companies miss their deadlines and targets, and this jeopardises orders," Western Cape Cosatu secretary Tony Ehrenreich told GroundUp.
In a press statement, Cosatu said "the charges are for reckless endangerment of Cosatu members and commuters on the trains", due to chronic overcrowding.
It said overcrowding was created by Metrorail "selling tickets to people who they know they can't accommodate", and by advertising a timetable, while knowing it had insufficient train sets to make it work.
This constituted criminal negligence on the part of Metrorail, Cosatu said.
Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott said: "PRASA/Metrorail will study the charges, once laid. It then becomes a legal process that must follow due course."
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