Thousands of workers at South African rail and logistics group Transnet began a one-day nationwide strike on Monday, disrupting train services and leaving commuters stranded, a union official said, according to Reuters. "The strike has started on a highly successful note," said Randall Howard, general secretary of trade union Satawu. "From the response we have received from all the metropolitan areas, it is clear that train services have been severely affected." Four unions, representing 50,000 of state-owned Transnet's 85,000-strong workforce, are protesting against the group's restructuring programme, which could see the sale of non-core assets worth about 7.7 billion rand ($1.23 billion). They say the process could cost 30,000 jobs. Local media reported that only 30 percent of the country's trains were operating. Trains are the main mode of transport for millions of South Africa's poor workers. Transnet reported disruptions at the container terminal of Durban -- Africa's busiest habour -- but said most of its other operations were running satisfactorily. "In SAPO (South African Ports Organisation), all operations are working at almost full capacity except for Durban, the country's largest container terminal, which is running at 50 percent capacity. Contingency plans are in place to ensure business continuity," John Dludlu, Transnet's general manager for corporate communications, said in a statement.
