Johannesburg - Some filling stations in Johannesburg and Pretoria are beginning to feel the effects of the fuel strike that began last week.
On Sunday many were either shut down or beginning to run dry. In Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, five stations were closed, among them one Shell, two BP and two belonging to Total.
In the northern side of town, petrol attendants manned the entrances at a BP station in Jan smuts Avenue, Dunkeld West, gesturing to motorists that there was no fuel available.
In Pretoria, at a BP filling station on the corner of Pretorius and Leyds streets, motorists looking for unleaded 95 octane petrol were turned away. In desperation, some opted for unleaded 93 octane.
Several service stations north of Johannesburg were also without 95 octane unleaded petrol. However, most of the stations in the Johannesburg CBD were operating as normal.
The South African Petroleum Industry Association urged motorists not to panic. It tweeted: “Motorists are advised to stick to their normal refuelling patterns to assist the petroleum industry in ensuring security of supply.”
Little impact in Kwazulu-Natal
The strike has had little impact on petrol stations in and around Durban, as most reported having fuel on Sunday afternoon with the strike in its fourth day.
The Mercury contacted more than 10 garages and found that they had fuel. Even though some said they had run out at some stage last week, they had since been resupplied.
One petrol station employee said they had “plenty”. For others, what they had could last a few days, depending on the demand. Others said they had not run dry since the strike started.
About 15 000 workers affiliated to the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union downed tools on Thursday in pursuit of a nine percent wage increase, following a deadlock between the union and the National Petroleum Employers’ Association.
The union demanded a nine percent wage increase while the employers offered seven percent or 2016 and a subsequent increase based on the consumer price index as at April 2017 plus 1.5 percent.
Ceppwawu head of collective bargaining, Clement Chitja said the strike would continue.
“There is nothing yet from the employers,” he said. “We have heard through an interview where the deputy president of the association was asked if they would meet with us on Monday.
“He responded that the members of the association would meet on their own first.”
The association could not be reached for comment on Sunday
Fuel price falls
Meanwhile, the price of fuel will decrease substantially from Wednesday. The Automobile Association cited the strengthening of the rand and lower international oil prices for the decrease.
Petrol would fall by around a rand a litre, diesel by approximately 70 cents and illuminating paraffin by about 66 cents, the AA said.
The Star, The Mercury