As Transnet and business focus on the aftermath of the strike, some workers were still "not happy" with the settlement that unions agreed to because it fell short of the inflation rate.
Majority union the United National Transport Union (Untu) accepted a 6% wage increase after a 12-day strike.
They were followed by a reluctant South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu) who accused their counterparts of “selling them out” after they attempted to hold out for a double-digit settlement.
Workers at the Cape Town harbour, who didn’t want to be identified for fear of reprisal, said the agreement was a "compromise" .
Alfred (not his real name) has worked for Transnet for over 30 years and participated in the 2010 strike.
He said: "The 2010 strike was strategic. We knew that our country was not going to miss the historic opportunity of hosting the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup. And we decided on industrial action to highlight our dissatisfaction with low salaries.
"The strike lasted almost a month. But we were willing to stick it out,“ he said.
Alfred's salary improved by at least 11%, in 2010, the standby allowance by 8% and another 8% for the night shift allowance.
"The increase was palatable. But in 2022 we find ourselves in a bad financial position, because of the rise in inflation costs," he said.
Another worker, Simon ( not his real name), said the "victory" gained in the 2010 strike was eroded over time as working conditions deteriorated.
"We would not back down in 2010, and we will not back down this time around. The decision to go on strike is not taken lightly and it's always a last resort.
"The 2010 wage settlement contributed a lot towards salary parity and better working conditions. Suddenly, certain jobs that were reserved for a certain race were now allocated to others.
"The settlement also lifted the morale of workers. They felt as part of the company and took pride in their work,“ he said.
But he lamented the "deterioration" in working conditions since 2010.
"There's a lot that needs to be resolved even though the strike has ended. We still don’t have new uniforms and we get ‘hand-me-down' machines from Durban. Our managers proudly tell us that these are brand new second-hand machines. This slows down productivity and our ability to meet set targets".
Both Simon and Alfred said they would press the unions to address the issues with Transnet.
The country’s economy and countless sectors which depend on Transnet recorded large losses as a result of the industrial action. This included the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) which said its members had incurred logistics costs of nearly R7 billion as a result of the strike.
The association said South Africa lost the opportunity of moving R65.3bn worth of goods.
"Some of that will possibly move later, but the rest is gone forever," said CEO Dr Juanita Maree.
SAAFF estimated that it would cost Transnet R1.5bn to implement the wage increase, if adopted across the board, for its more than 51 000 workers.
The state-owned logistics company wouldn’t divulge how it would fund the increase and said "salary increases were funded from operations".
"Details regarding the wage bill and other financial information will be made available when Transnet presents its next set of financial results to the market," Transnet said in a statement to media queries.
SAAF urged Transnet and workers to find better ways to resolve wage disputes in the future.
"We can never allow these events to stand in the way of our drive for economic growth. If goods can't move, the economy stops," said Maree.