Petrol strike to hit harder

The number of dry petrol stations is rising as the fuel strike enters its seventh day, and things are to get worse.

As millions of children return to school today, the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the number of petrol stations with no fuel has increased from about 200 nationwide on Friday to more than 300 yesterday.

And trade union Solidarity joins the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union on strike today.

Solidarity, which has more than 6000 members at petrol producers Sasol and Petro SA, has threatened to bring them to a standstill.

Avhapfani Tshifularo, CEO of the SA Petroleum Service Industry - which speaks on behalf of Shell, Engen, BP, Chevron, Total and Sasol - said last night that Solidarity's joining the strike could force production at Petro SA in Mossel Bay, Western Cape, and Sasol in Secunda, Mpumalanga, to come to a halt.

"This is a matter of great concern. If Solidarity goes on strike [today] as they say, it is going to affect the entire industry," he said.

"Sasol supplies a lot of petrol to most of the [fuel retail] companies in the industry, if not all of them."

Sasol did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

Tshifularo said companies had succeeded in supplying many stations at the weekend and would monitor demand today.

Intimidation of tanker drivers remained their biggest problem and fuel companies had been forced to hire additional security, the costs of which was "enormous", he said.

Reggie Sibiya, CEO of the Fuel Retailers' Association, which represents filling stations, said that while he would be able to give updated figures on the impact of the strike only today, he could say petrol backlogs had "worsened".

"There are sites that have been dry since the strike started and our members are still calling us to tell us that they have not received [petrol]," he said.

"To us, that is an indication that the backlogs are huge."

Sibiya said panic petrol buying was leading to fuel stations that usually had six days' supply in their underground tanks running dry within six hours. Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were the most affected, with townships least prioritised by fuel suppliers, he said.

In Durban and Pietermaritzburg, there were long queues at many petrol stations, with motorists filling their tanks and additional containers to prepare for the week ahead. More than 60 petrol stations in KwaZulu-Natal were reportedly dry.

Neren Rau, CEO of the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said businesses in affected areas would begin to feel the strike's impact this week: "I believe that we could see potential production losses when people will struggle to get to work because they cannot get petrol."

Thabisho Molelekwa, spokesman for the SA National Taxi Council, said his industry stood to lose R2-million a day.

"Taxi drivers are forced to go to distant areas to find fuel, especially in Johannesburg, Springs, Sandton and surrounding areas. This is a serious burden for our operators," he said. The problem would be exacerbated by the reopening of schools today.

"There are discussions on how we can resolve the matter because R2-million, when you spread it out, is killing operators," he said.

"We do not have any control over what happens in the fuel industry even though the taxi industry consumes about R15-billion in fuel annually," Molelekwa said.

Solidarity deputy general secretary Dirk Hermann said the strike needed to continue to speed up wage negotiations.

"Our information is that we are not at a crisis yet and we believe that our action is important to the process. That may be the strategic turning point," he said.

Some service stations have receive deliveries of fuel, allegedly after a court interdict was brought against strikers to prevent intimidation.

Deon Rautenbach, manager of the Engen filling station in Killarney, Johannesburg, said Engen was granted a court interdict against the strikers, and fuel trucks were being escorted by police.

"I presume they're working on the backlog," he said. "By [today] though, I might not get fuel."