Some two years after the merger of the United Transport and Allied Trade Union and the South African Railway and Harbour Workers Union, the newly formed entity has been officially renamed the United National Transport Union (UNTU).
“[The merger of the unions] was believed by many to be a marriage that could not survive.
“Not only have we survived, but our union has grown from strength to strength to become the majority union at most Transnet operations and the only union at [locomotive manufacturers] Bombela, Mega Express and Bombardier,” UNTU general-secretary Steve Harris said at the launch function on Thursday.
He expected UNTU’s growth within the various industries in which it was represented to accelerate in the months ahead.