Durban - The good news is that fuel is set to become cheaper from next month (read more HERE). The bad news is that you might not be able to get any.
Motorists have been warned to brace themselves for possible fuel shortages as petroleum industry workers go on strike on Thursday.
Clement Chitja, head of collective bargaining at the Chemical Energy Paper Printing Wood and Allied Workers Union (Ceppwawu), said refinery and depot workers would strike after wage talks with the National Petroleum Employers’ Association broke down.
The association's deputy chairman, Zimisele Majamane, confirmed they had received notice of the strike.
“Due to a number of unresolved demands tabled by the union on behalf of workers at the bargaining council, workers will down tools and picket or demonstrate outside their workplaces in terms of strike rules,” said Chitja.
Chief among the demands was the wage increase. He said workers wanted a 9 percent increase, but employers, through the association, were offering 7 percent for 2016, and an increase based on the consumer price index as at April next year plus 1.5 percent.
This had been rejected by workers, bringing negotiations to a halt. The talks started in May.
Stations could run dry within three days
The strike was expected to involve more than 15 000 workers and would affect the transportation of fuel to petrol stations around the country, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern and Western Cape, as well as Mpumalanga, said Chitja.
He said it could take about three days before filling stations ran dry.
But Majamane said although the strike was a concern, when negotiation processes started, employers knew there was a possibility of industrial action and made contingency plans to minimise the impact on consumers.
“No one wants a strike, especially under the current economic conditions, and we hope the strike will not go ahead or the parties will find (a solution),” said Majamane.
Chitja said: “All petroleum suppliers will be affected and unfortunately so will motorists. We want them to know that this is not of our own doing, but we believe a strong message has to be sent to employers.
“It is not true that they can cry broke; what they are doing is withholding money and by so doing, they are stagnating the economy.”
Fuel station workers not on strike
Jan Schoeman, of the South African Petroleum Retailers’ Association (Sapra), said the strike would include workers at bulk fuel depots, transfer facilities and oil refineries.
But it would not involve service stations, which fell under a different bargaining council.
Retail service would therefore, for now, continue uninterrupted.
Schoeman is the chief operations officer of the Sapra affiliate, Retail Motor Industry Organisation.
“A sad reality in South African industrial relations is that unions in general fail to conduct successful strikes in the absence of intimidation, and consequently we are expecting widespread action of this nature by Ceppwawu - in particular at refinery and bulk fuel depot access points.
“This will have an unavoidably adverse impact of supply of fuel to retail sites/service stations,” said Schoeman.
While Sapra members would work closely with their respective fuel suppliers and oil companies to ensure continuity of supply, “we are imparting to consumers the importance of keeping their vehicles sufficiently fuelled at all times to avoid disappointment”.
Layton Beard, of the Automobile Association, agreed. “Motorists need to make provision to ensure their tanks are topped up and they are at least covered for some time.”
Click here for some handy fuel-saving tips
Chijta said there was no telling when the strike would end, they had laid their demands on the table, including for petroleum employers to comply with amendments to the Labour Relations Act.
The act stipulates that after three months of employment, all workers should be permanently employed.