Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica on Monday assured South Africans that an end to the strike in the liquid fuels sector is in the offing.
She asserted: “I initiated meetings with both the employer and employee organisations last week to stress the importance of resolving this salary dispute as a matter of urgency. I can safely say that following these meetings a resolution to the current dispute is imminent.”
She said she had emphasised to the parties that collective bargaining matters could not supersede those of broader national interest.
“One of strategic imperatives of the Department of Minerals and Energy is to ensure security of energy supply in South Africa. In pursuit of this strategic imperative, the minister is, therefore, obliged to intervene in matters where energy security is being threatened.
“It was therefore in this context that Minister Sonjica intervened and impressed on both the employer and employee organisations involved in the negotiation process [the need] to strike a delicate balance between collective bargaining arrangements and national security, especially since the shortage of fuel has far-reaching implications,” Sonjica’s office said in a statement.
The minister said: “I, however, wish to assure South Africans that there is no fuel crisis in the country and that this is purely a matter of logistical constraints resulting from the strike. I would therefore like to urge the public to refrain from panic buying because it serves only to exacerbate the situation. This is especially in light of the fact that the dispute will soon be resolved.”.
Her office said Sonjica had held a meeting with the trade unions involved last week, where she had urged them to find an amicable and speedy resolution to the strike as it was affecting the ordinary South African in more ways than one.
Another meeting was convened by the director general of the department, Advocate Sandile Nogxina, with officials of the South African Petroleum Industries Association (Sapia) last week, where he had emphasised the need for them to find a solution to this crisis as a matter of urgency.
Sonjica said she was confident in the leadership of the employer and employee organisations involved in this matter, and had no doubt that they would honour their undertaking. — I-Net Bridge