Petrol strike ends

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Pretoria – Petrol stations that were affected by the recent petrol strike will be back to normal as of Monday.

This comes after the Chemical Energy Paper Printing Wood and Allied Workers’ Union (Ceppwawu) had reached an agreement of a 7 percent salary increase with the employers on Wednesday.

Following the agreement, the workers will return to work on Monday.

Ceppwawu spokesperson Jerry Nkosi told SAnews that they have reached a two year agreement with the employer.

“Our members are happy with the agreement. According to the agreement, the workers would be back paid from July,” he said.

The petroleum sector and the union also came to an agreement regarding an improvement in shift allowances.

About 15 000 Ceppwawu members downed tools for close to three weeks demanding a 9 percent salary increase.

The strike‚ which was in its third week, caused some disruption in the supply of petrol to the petrol stations.

In terms of the agreement reached between the union and the employers, the workers will receive 7% increase in the first year starting 1 July and in the second year it’s an April CPI (consumer price index) plus 1.5% increase.

Negotiations between Ceppwawu and the National Petroleum Employers' Union (NPEA) were deadlocked after talks failed on August 5.

This week, the parties were in talks again with the Commission for Conciliation‚ Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) which led to a resolution.

The CCMA facilitated the negotiation process, which commenced last Friday and continued on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the price of fuel is expected to come down again next month. – SAnews.gov.za