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Johannesburg
- Various business interest groups have warned of dire consequences for the
economy if the transport workers' strike goes ahead.
The South
African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) and the United Transport
and Allied Trade Union (Utatu) have threatened to start striking on Monday over
wage disputes with their employer, state transport utility Transnet.
Interruptions
to the movement of coal to key power stations such Majuba may have dire
consequences to power supply, said the South African Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (Sacci) on Thursday.
Power
interruptions in turn will hit the manufacturing, retail, mining and other
industries.
"The
distribution of fuel and supply of avgas [aviation fuel] and bunker fuel to
airlines and shipping lines could be crippled," said Sacci.
The
business body added that this could damage South Africa's reputation as a
reliable trading partner - at a time when attention is focused on the country
because of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Other
adverse consequences could be delays with coal and iron
ore exports, as well as commuter disruptions.
Sacci said it is "deeply concerned" about the strike, and urged parties
involved to reach agreement as soon as possible.
Meanwhile,
the automotive industry has also spoken out about risks to the sector.
These mainly relate to delays in transport of new vehicles from factories to
dealerships.
Further
disruptions would occur at South African ports, where imported components and
vehicles would not make their way out of harbours.
Dave
Powels, president of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers SA
(Naamsa), said on Wednesday that industrial action would be "extremely
damaging".
"A
strike would close all the assembly plants within a matter of days, with a
massive cascade effect throughout the entire automotive value chain," said
Powels.
Powels
added that this would occur at a time when the motor industry is pulling itself
out of a crippling three-and-a-half-year recession characterised by low
nationwide sales.
Vehicle
sales in May or June will be affected if transport disruptions result in
stock shortages at dealerships, said Jacques Brent, vice-president of Marketing
and Service at Ford Motor Company SA.
Brent
estimated that 10 000 units less could be sold in May compared to April,
should the strike go ahead.
- Fin24.com