Other e-hailing organisations have joined the legal battle initiated by e-hailing service Wanatu last week against Tshwane authorities over vehicle impoundments. This is despite their opposition to the new company’s Afrikaans-only hiring policy.
This follows a recent protest by e-hailing drivers who accused metro police officers of unfairly impounding their vehicles. The incident also sparked a debate on social media, with users accusing the City of Tshwane of turning a blind eye to Wanatu. However, after conducting investigations, the city found several Wanatu drivers operating without permits, leading to their vehicles also being impounded.
Wanatu Chief Executive Judith van der Walt announced on Friday that the company would take legal action to fight for the rights of e-hailing drivers.
”If you are an e-hailing driver and can’t represent yourself, join our application. We’re finalising documents today, so contact us urgently to participate,” Wanatu urged drivers.
Van der Walt stated that they were extending an open invitation to all e-hailing drivers, including those from Bolt, Uber, and inDrive, to join their legal action against the authorities.
”We are in the process of finalising the necessary documents,” she said yesterday, adding that interested operators should contact the company.
Speaking to The Star, President of Pretoria West E-Hailing, Wander Rala, expressed his frustration over Wanatu's policy of exclusively employing Afrikaans-speaking drivers.
“We are not happy that Wanatu is allowing only Afrikaans-speaking people to work in their field. This divides the people and it brings racism into our society. In this new South Africa companies need to consider everyone, a language shouldn't be the reason why people can't get jobs.”
Rala stated that while they do not support Wanatu’s policies, they will join forces with them to fight for drivers' rights, as drivers are the ones most affected by the ongoing issue of vehicle impoundments.
He emphasised that they had already planned to take authorities to court before Wanatu approached them to join forces.
Mlungisi Mabuya, Secretary General for Pretoria West E-Hailing, shared the same sentiments as Rala, stating that they too planned to take the matter to court. He emphasised that the only common ground they had with Wanatu was the issue of their vehicles being impounded.
“We didn't go looking for them or begging them for a court date; with or without them we were en route to court. They found us en route... The deal or language we find ourselves married to them is one: impounding. Nothing beyond that.”
He added that the Human Rights Commission would address Wanatu's hiring policies.
Isaac Mahamba, spokesperson for the Tshwane Metro Police Department, stated that he could not comment on the issue of Wanatu and other organisations taking legal action against them, as the department was handling the matter.
Tshwane's MMC for Roads and Transport, Tlangi Mogale, stated that the city does not approve of Wanatu's exclusively Afrikaans operations.
“Certainly, we do have a problem with that. I think for us that is blatant racism and it is the last thing that we should be discussing in this day and age, as a constitutional democracy,” she said.
She also said the company was under scrutiny by the Human Rights Commission for allegedly recruiting only Afrikaans-speaking drivers, which she described as unacceptable.
The Star
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