The industrial action, which has
sparked fears of violence involving the divided workforce, could also disrupt the rail
movement of key commodities like iron ore, supply of coal to power stations and
vehicles.
The South African Transport and
Allied Workers Union (Satawu), which represents 39% of the labour force, proceeded with the
industrial action on Monday after rejecting Transnet's revised 11% wage offer.
But United Transport and Allied
Trade Union (Utatu) has not embarked on the strike action and has recommended Transnet's
latest offer to its members, who account for 45% of workers.
Together, the two unions make up
around 84% of Transnet's total workforce.
Ross Bruton, energy analyst at
Frost & Sullivan, said a disruption in fuel supply would have a substantial effect on the
availability of the product to the market.
Bruton said it was difficult to
gauge the level of effect the strike would have on pipeline operations as "we
currently do not know what contingency plans Transnet has put in place to ensure
the uninterrupted operation of the infrastructure".
Transnet operates the major liquid
fuel pipelines in SA, consisting of two pipelines running from the Durban port to Gauteng.
This consists of a crude oil
pipeline and a product pipeline, which are the major sources of liquid fuel supply to the Gauteng
market.
The transport utility says in its website its liquid fuels network traverses KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Gauteng, North West and Mpumalanga. Its pipeline network transports 100% of South Africa's bulk petroleum products.
Police on high alert
The Natref inland refinery receives
all of its crude oil requirements from Transnet Pipelines. The Natref refinery is a
joint venture between Sasol Mining and Total South Africa. Other customers
include BP, Caltex, Engen, Exel and Shell.
Bruton said the potential
disruptions in pipeline activities depended on the length and intensity of the strike action and
Transnet's ability to manage its operations with available resources
throughout its duration.
Transnet spokesperson, John Dludlu
said the company was concerned about the impact of a "divided workforce" regarding
violence and intimidation.
"Transnet would like to urge
the union's leadership to ensure discipline amongst members and refrain from engaging in acts of
violence and intimidation against those colleagues who choose to
work," Dludlu said.
He said the group had put the SA
Police Services on "high alert" and communicated its concerns about the spectre of
violence arising from a divided labour movement.
In terms of contingency plans,
Dludlu said Transnet had sufficient stock piles and, on Sunday, it ran extra trains to transport
key commodities. He reiterated that the company's offer was "fair
and generous".
Satawu maintains that the dispute
is not just about money.
It has demanded that the more than
5 000 workers, who are currently employed by Transnet on annual contracts, should be
employed on a permanent basis.
"We have also demanded that the formula for annual bonuses be negotiated," Satawu said.
- I-Net Bridge