Road Freight Subsector

The Executive Officer of TETA’s Road Freight Chamber is Trevor Abrahams. He oversees the implementation of TETA’s mandate in Mpumalanga.

About the Road Freight Subsector

About the Road Freight SubsectorThe Road Freight industry covers both public and private transportation, including but not limited to, trucks moving freight to and from the airports; to and from rail; to and from clients and from pipeline distribution centres to petrol stations. As an element of an integrated freight logistics supply chain, it is also integral to the implementation of the Freight Logistics Strategy. This industry deals with the daily movement of freight and has recently experienced an increase in the volume of goods transported between production sites or ports and markets. It is estimated that 80% of all freight carried out in this country is done by road. The road freight market totals about 640 million tons of traffic per annum.

Strategic focus

To address the key road freight industry challenges, TETA’s Road Freight Chamber aims to employ the following strategies:

• Focus on ensuring that employers who apply for discretionary grants train drivers in professional driving and understand the implications of the programme in terms of their own inputs.
• Encourage employers and training providers to invest in the training of women drivers as a strategy for reducing accidents on the road.
• Promote road safety and a healthy lifestyle through TETA-led campaigns and/or supporting other stakeholder initiatives; and
• Ensure that implementation of training is compliant with COVID-19 protocols

Persisting challenges

• The insistence of other industry players to employ foreign drivers often results in trucks being burnt on the roads.
• The impact of HIV/Aids on the industry is a looming crisis.
• There is a dire need for skills upliftment programmes in the trucking industry, with over 80 percent of the nation’s goods being moved by road.
• High rates of road accidents.
• There is a need to train women drivers.
• Coronavirus has had a negative impact in that most employees were retrenched.
• Lack of transformation within the sub-sector.

Achievements

The chamber continues to see significant improvement in performance and overall stakeholder participation. Below are some achievements:

• The Chamber has partnered with National Treasury and have successfully implement numerous programmes with them.
• Four of the companies that were funded through discretionary grants have absorbed 100% of learners after completion of their programme during 2020/2021 financial year.
• The Chamber has successfully implemented a tyre fitment centre project with Gert Sibande TVET College, Evander Campus as part of rural development initiative.
• The Chamber has succeeded in improving relations with the Mpumalanga Office of the Premier through a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Public Works, Roads, and Transport for artisan training (100 learners), Supply Chain Management (200 learners) and road traffic law enforcement (200 learners) learnerships.
• The Chamber has experienced an improvement in workplace skills plan participation.
• Increased number of DG applications.
• The due diligence process implemented has succeeded in rooting out the hindrances in training, for example non-performance of projects.
• Signed memoranda of understanding with Nkangala TVET College and Gert Sibande TVET College in relation to career and vocational guidance, bursaries, RPL, small business development support, driver training, road safety education and capacity building.

The Employer and Employee representatives

The follow unions, major associations and authorities represent employers and employees operating in the subsector:

• South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (SATAWU)
• Motor Transport Workers’ Union (MTWU)
• Professional Transport Workers’ Union (PTWU)
• Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (TAWUSA)
• South African Express Parcel’s Association (SAEPA)
• Road Freight Association (RFA)
• National Employers Association of South Africa (NEASA)
• South Africa Black Bulk Transporters Association
• Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport: South Africa

Statutory bodies

• National and Provincial Departments of Transport
• Mpumalanga Freight & Logistics Forum (MFLF)
• Transport Sector HIV/Aids & TB Committee
• Mpumalanga InterSETA Forum
• National Bargaining Council of Road Freight and Logistics Industry (NBCRFLI)