Fuel stations already running dry

Despite last week’s South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia) announcement that motorists should rest assured that fuel stations were well stocked and ran no risk of running dry, a few filling stations in Gauteng have reportedly done so.

This comes after Chemical Energy Paper Printing Wood and Allied Workers Union (Ceppwawu) embarked on a strike last week as they demanded a 9 % wage increase. 

Despite major filling stations being adamant that they could withstand the demand, Gauteng has starting feeling the pinch as five stations were closed. Some of which belonged to major providers like Shell, BP and Total.

The Gauteng region is said to have been the worst affected by the strike thus far.

“Nationally, the situation is fairly fine considering that we are operating under strike action. We have incidents that have been reported particularly intimidation in Pretoria,” reported EWN.

In the background negotiations are being held between Ceppwawu and the National Petroleum Employers’ Association (NPEA) who have tabled a 7% increase stating that they believed their offer is a fair one.

Filling stations around the country have been experiencing an influx of motorists who were worried that they would be without fuel. Yesterday however birthed a silver lining as the Department of Energy announced that petrol would be decreasing by 99 cents per litre tomorrow. This due to the strengthening of the rand against the dollar.

So far the other regions seem to be coping regardless of the ongoing strike, but after tomorrow’s expected fuel fill-up, we hope the same can be said for all areas.

To read more on the petrol price decrease, click here.

Handy tip: To take care of more than just your fuel tank, apply for car insurance, here.