PetroSA shuts - again

THIS time, nobody at PetroSa has put water in the wrong pipes, it is a strike by the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers' Union (CEPPWAWU) doing its annual damnedest to wrench even more money out of the oil companies -- which is their democratic right, of course, -- never mind that their members can only be described as the aristocrats of labour. Spigot recalls an anecdote told to him by an industry wage negotiator. One worker complained to him bitterly that company attempts to control the overtime boondoggle would mean that some workers would have to forgo their M-Net decoders. A quick scan of the parking lots around oil company installations confirms how poverty stricken these workers are. Spigot is not sure what the minimum wage is these days,but he is willing to bet that when you add on all the perks that go with working for an oil company, even a drum roller on the lowest scale is paid well above what is paid to, for example, junior reporters, social workers and even school teachers. And there are damn few on the lowest scale, by all accounts. The CEPPWAWU demand is for a 10 per cent increase -- well above the inflation rate. For that they are willing to bring refineries to a standstill. Spigot hopes their cars come to a standstill, along with those of the rest of us. Maybe that will restore some sanity.