Petrol running out

Petrol stations are apparently starting to run out of product.

The petrol and diesel that keeps cars and trucks on the road.

Well somebody has to take it to the petrol station and fill the station up before they can fill you up.

And at the moment they just can't get all the fuel to the pump.

This is due to the ongoing strike action by South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu).

This story was covered by the Mail and Guardian who interviewed Reggie Sibiya the chief executive of the South African Fuel Retailers' Association (FRA) on the effects that this strike may have on fuel supplies.

So far there has been enough but it was believed that if the strike continued for much beyond Tuesday then there might be shortages.

As it stands the strike is still ongoing and it is not known if the sides have negotiated a settlement with each other.

Creamers Engineering News looked at the story and reported that there was a last minute intervention with the CCMA, which failed, last Tuesday evening.

The RFA has stated that they will make use of non unionised drivers to get the deliveries made, but this carries the risk for those drivers of being intimidated or even attacked for breaking the picket line.

Satawu said that they could not reach agreement on a number of issues including 'minimum wages, allowances and maternity leave, among others'.

The Road Freight Employers Association hit back that they believed that Satawu were 'not taking the current economic climate into account in its demands for wage increases' and that the union demands were in their opinion 'excessive in the extreme'.

In labour disputes as is when counting the casualties of war the actual truth of the matter is very rarely actually explicitly called for what it is.

The one side will cry one thing while the other will cry the opposite somewhere in between both these viewpoints lies the truth, which hopefully can be negotiated to.

Newstoday.co.za also looked at this story and noted that 300 petrol stations have run dry across the country already and that if the strike is not concluded this will continue.

There is currently a backlog of deliveries to be made and the parties are continuing to meet today to try and resolve their differences.

So if you feel like offering your two cents to either of the parties involved, Satawu can be contacted here and the Road Freight Association can be contacted here. They were in meetings with each other as of eleven this morning.

Let's hope that they can come to an agreement and that everybody gets to walk or drive away happy.

In the meantime register with Justmoney.co.za stay on top of your personal finance and wait till you can drive your car again.