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Cape Town – A long-awaited meeting will take place on Friday that will kick-start talks to end the petrol strike, which will allow petrol stations in Gauteng to restock its empty tanks.
This follows a strike started last Thursday that resulted in the main petrol depot in Pretoria coming to a standstill. Motorists in Pretoria and other parts of Gauteng have been battling to find stations with petrol.
Other parts of South Africa have not been affected, as contingency plans have been put in place by petrol suppliers.
One Fin24 reader said on Thursday the petrol shortage had reached Norwood in Johannesburg. “I tried to top up with petrol at the BP in Norwood yesterday, but was turned away as they had no petrol,” said Amanda Dewar. “The Engen in Norwood had a small amount of diesel left, but was not dispensing any other petrol.”
With its 15 000 members, Ceppwawu is pushing for a one-year agreement for 9%, while the National Petroleum Employers’ Association (NPEA) proposed a 7% increase this year and a consumer price index plus 1% increase next year.
A meeting has been scheduled between the two parties at 10:00 on Friday, Zimisele Majamane, deputy chair of the NPEA, told Fin24 on Thursday.
Both parties are looking for alternative solutions to the deadlock in talks, which last occurred on 18 July.
“Our mandate is strong,” said Majamane, whose organisation represents the employers. “If you look at our justification and reasons, you will understand. The companies don’t have that kind of money demanded by unions.”
However, he said “we hope to find an alternative solution”.
Clement Chitja, head of collective bargaining at Ceppwawu, told Fin24 on Thursday that they were seeking a trade-off in the negotiations.
“There must be a palatable trade-off for us to trade off,” he said. “Without any trade-off, an agreement is unlikely.”
Chitja criticised the industry for not being able to up the salaries. “It is not an industry that can cry poverty,” he told Fin24 this week. “They should be able to make up the salary difference easily.
“The increments in the CEOs’ salary are such that they can get a 26% increase when they are already earning millions,” he said. “That tells you how well the industry is doing.”
While South Africa battles high levels of poverty and unemployment, it also has one of the highest pay gaps in the world.
Majamane told Fin24 on Monday that the body is open to talk at any time.
“We put an offer in our last meeting of 18 July to the union and we believe it is fair under the current circumstances, but have not had a response,” he said. “We are waiting for them.”
Meanwhile, the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) said on Friday that both parties should "work to resolve the dispute as workers now fear losing their jobs", according to EWN.
"We think it’s unfair that companies and managers are the ones who want to benefit and when it comes to giving workers a living wage they force them to go on a long strike," said Fedusa's Dennis George.
