A passenger, who was injured when a MyCiTi bus was petrol bombed in Cape Town, has been discharged from hospital but the driver of the bus is still receiving medical attention, according to the City of Cape Town.

“The bus driver’s condition is stable. He is still in hospital,” City mayoral committee member Felicity Purchase said after the bus was petrol bombed in Woodstock on Monday night.

The passenger, who was released from hospital on Tuesday, and the driver were injured when the bus came under attack in Roodebloem Road.

The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) stepped in to investigate complaints raised by a large group of fired MyCiTi bus drivers who refused to budge from outside Cape Town’s Civic Centre.

They were fired after downing tools in October in an apparent attempt to get the City to hire them directly and to attend to complaints about some of their working conditions. They work for contracted vehicle operating companies (VOC).

SAHRC Western Cape commissioner Chris Nissen said the rights body had received complaints of alleged infringement of the drivers’ and staffers’ dignity. They claim they are only able to rest and eat in the bathrooms of some bus stations.

They also wanted the Public Protector to look into the sacked staffers’ concerns and labour relations complaints, Nissen said.

Patrick Mabindisa, a spokesperson for the strikers, said they had a meeting on Wednesday with Mayor Dan Plato, Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith, Purchase and a director responsible for the management of the VOC contracts.

By his count, 372 drivers, cleaners and platform ambassadors, such as queue managers and cashiers, were fired.

(Source: News24)