A strike by 2 000 workers at Sasol, the world’s biggest maker of fuel from coal, entered its fourth day on Wednesday, reducing coal output at its mines, but fuel production was unaffected.
The workers, a third of the workforce at the mines, downed their tools on Friday at the five coal mines in Secunda, to the north of Johannesburg. The mines are run by Sasol Mining, a unit of Sasol, with an output of 40-million tonnes a year.
Sasol uses the coal to produce about 150 000 barrels per day of motor and industrial fuels at its Secunda refinery, and supplies 30% of South Africa’s liquid fuel requirements.
Its fuel output operations at Secunda were so far unaffected and the company was relying on the reduced output of coal from the mines and had sufficient stockpiles, an official said.
”The strike is still on. We do have [coal] stockpiles and the mines are still in production, albeit at lower than normal levels,” Sasol spokesperson Johann van Rheede said.
It was not immediately clear what the workers’ wage demands were or how long their strike would last as their officials at the United People’s Union of South Africa (Upusa) were unreachable to comment.
The workers picketed outside Secunda on Tuesday as their union leaders met with Sasol officials to discuss the strike and picketing rules. It was not clear if talks to resolve the stand-off would be held on Wednesday. – Reuters