South Africa labour deal ends refinery strike

Major refineries said they had begun processes to resume operations but would need a few days before the fuel supply situation was back to normal.
Keith Jacobs, deputy secretary general of the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union (Ceppwawu) said an agreement had been reached early this morning after a night of marathon talks. "The agreement that we have right now is for an 8.5 percent salary increase that is backdated to the first of July," Jacobs said.

"Other issues such as the six-month maternity leave and an agreement on working hours will continue to be discussed, but we hope to tie those up soon," he said. The agreement only covers the petroleum sector. Workers in the industrial chemical, fast-moving consumer goods, tissue and allied sectors, belonging to the same union, continue their multi-sector strike.