Johannesburg - While petrol depot employees are going back to work after reaching a wage deal with the National Petroleum Employers’ Association (NPEA), they might down tools again.
The Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union (Ceppwawu) said it was still hoping to get a 9 percent increase. The union’s negotiators agreed to 7 percent at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Wednesday.
“We will not rule out a strike. If our demands are not met in the next round of negotiations we will look at going on strike,” said Ceppwawu’s Clement Chitga.
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“We are partially happy with the settlement, but we are not entirely happy. We do not know what the task team will bargain for us in the near future.”
But for now, motorists can relax as the union’s 12 000 members plan to be back at work on Monday.
Petrol stations in some provinces, including Gauteng, ran out of fuel as a result of the three-week mass action.
It was agreed employees would be back paid to July and an agreement was also reached regarding an improvement in shift allowances.
“There has been an increment in the shift allowance by the bargaining council,” said Chitga.
The two-year agreement will see a 7 percent increase in the first year, and in the second year it will be an April CPI (consumer price index) plus 1.5 percent pay rise.
CCMA director Cameron Morajane commended the parties for “resolving the dispute”.