11 Jul 2011The impact of a full-blown strike in the petroleum and pharmaceuticals sector starting on Monday could see petrol stations running dry before the end of the week.
About 70 000 workers from the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union (Ceppwawu) and the General Industries Workers Union of SA (Giwusa) were expected to down tools, joining the National Union of Metalworkers of SA’s (Numsa’s) strike, which started in the steel and engineering sector last week.
Chief among their demands are a wage increase of 11 percent to 13 percent across the board and a minimum wage of R6 000 a month. They are also calling for labour brokers to be banned, a 40-hour working week and maternity leave of six months fully paid. Negotiations will continue this week.
http://www.iol.co.za/business/business-news/strike-fuels-petrol-worries-1.1096517