SADTU criticises taxi association's intimidation of teachers using lift clubs

The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) has condemned threats from the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO)’s affiliate in northern KwaZulu-Natal for threatening teachers who use lift clubs as their mode of transport to and from work.  

The criticism was in reaction to a letter circulating on social media instructing teachers in Ladysmith, northern KwaZulu-Natal, to stop giving lifts to each other as they are interfering with the taxi business. 

The threats, contained in a letter bearing SANTACO’s letterhead and logo and dated January 5, came from SANTACO’s subsidiary union, Mhlumayo Taxi Association (MTA), whose members operate minibus taxis in Ladysmith. 

The association said it did not want private vehicle owners carrying passengers from February 16.

The letter, which was written in the isiZulu, was emphatic of teachers who give lifts to their colleagues. 

“As the Mhlumayo Taxi Association, we would like to inform you that on 16/02/2026, we are not going to allow vehicles and a teacher to lift others.

“We don’t have a problem with a teacher who is traveling with his car, but a teacher who gives a lift to others won’t pass through.

“There should be no quarrel about this because it is our job, as you will never find us teaching,”  read the letter.

SADTU provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza said the association’s threats were unfair “because teachers must be allowed to have transport that suits them”. 

She said the association should have engaged with the teachers to understand their travelling circumstances.

“We don’t even know what informed the decision,” said Caluza. 

MTA chairperson Thembikuhle Ndawonde, a member of SANTACO’s provincial executive committee, confirmed that the association issued the letter.

“We held a meeting with teachers and told them that we are not happy that they now have a spot to park their car and ride Toyota Ventures and other seven-seater cars.

“Which means they are competing with the taxi industry, although they don’t possess operating licences,” he said. 

“We don’t have a problem with teachers who are given a ride by other teachers from the same area to the same school.

“But if a teacher is giving a ride to others and drops them at various schools, that would mean that the teacher is now in the transport business,” said Ndawonde. 

He said teachers who were using lift clubs were from about 20 schools.

When told that his explanation was not in line with the content of the letter, he said: “You cannot explain everything in the letter; we just wanted their attention so that they could come to us for a discussion.” 

Ndawonde said local taxi operators were frustrated as their business was running out of customers, leading to them not generating enough income to pay for installments for their minibus taxis. 

“In my area, we are running out of employed people who are using taxis. Many of our vehicles have been repossessed by banks.” 

He said the association has no intention of intimidating teachers. 

“We are not going to fight them because they are teaching our children and we don’t want schools to be disrupted,” said Ndawonde.

SANTACO provincial spokesperson Sifiso Shangase said every person has a right to their choice of transport mode.

He said that after discussing the letter with Ndawonde, he established that Ndawonde’s explanation was contrary to what the letter says. 

Shangase said he understood Ndawonde’s concern about teachers who buy seven-seater cars with the intention of generating income through running a business of transporting their colleagues.

“He told me that this means teachers are now running in a public transport space for which you are required to have an operating licence. It has become an unfair competition. 

“I told the chairperson that the association’s letter is not correctly worded and it is distorting what he told me and that it is not saying what he told me,” he said.

He said, according to SANTACO, taxi operators were not above the law and should always comply with the law. 

“Nobody should intimidate any person who intends to use his or her own transport of choice,” he said.

Shangase said teachers who are running a taxi business in contravention of the law should be subjected to law enforcement authority.

“As we are running a business, this becomes an unfair competition to us, but the Department of Transport, through law enforcement agencies, should deal with matters. 

“Unfortunately, their limited numbers and capacity to police these issues create a challenge.

“Some of the local traffic police in municipalities are not well educated about the National Land Transport Act, and they don’t even understand what the operating licence is.”

He said some teachers have become entrepreneurs through the transport business. 

“There is nothing wrong with that, because in our days, you cannot be sustained by a monthly salary, and normally, you need to have another source of income, but you need to abide by the law,” said Shangase. 

bongani.hans@inl.co.za