Consistently ahead on South African transport strikes

Reuters has led from the front on coverage of transport strikes in South Africa that have overshadowed preparations for the World Cup, disrupted port operations and forced some mining companies to cancel exports.On May 19, Reuters was first with the breakthrough in overnight talks between South African logistics group Transnet and the largest of its striking unions, the United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu). The two-week strike dented exports of metals, cars, fruit and wine to Europe and Asia, as well as imports of vehicle parts and fuel, and forced several global miners to declare force majeure on shipments. The news was the first sign that the strike, closely followed by industry, government and investors alike, was winding down. Other news providers followed with a story only an hour later. The following day, Reuters was 50 minutes ahead of the closest competition, Bloomberg, with confirmation that Utatu had indeed accepted the revised pay deal. On May 26, Reuters broke news that the hold-out union, the smaller South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, was set to accept the pay offer too.