White workers at South Africa’s Sasol to strike over black share scheme

South Africa’s mainly white Solidarity union will begin a strike today at petrochemicals firm Sasol over a share ownership scheme offered exclusively to black staff.

Under black economic empowerment rules, South African companies are required to meet quotas on black ownership, employment and procurement as part of a drive to reverse decades of exclusion under apartheid, Reuters reported.

“We intend to switch off a different section of Sasol each day by means of well-laid and strategic plans,” the union said in a statement.

Sasol, world leader in the technology that converts coal and gas to fuel, said last year it would raise its black ownership levels in Sasol South Africa to at least 25 percent in a 21-billion-rand ($1.5 billion) deal.

Solidarity which has 6,300 members at Sasol’s local operations, said it would embark on the strike action due to the company’s new staff share scheme excluding white employees which it previous called “blatant discrimination against loyal Sasol employees”.

Sasol which has around 26,000 employees at its local operations said it received notification from the trade union Solidarity of its intent to strike today and was open to engagement with the union.

“We have activated contingency measures to minimize potential disruption to our operations,” Sasol said in an emailed response.

SIPHIWE SIBEKO/REUTERS Electricity pylons are seen near cooling towers of South African petrochemical company Sasol’s synthetic fuel plant in Secunda, north of Johannesburg in South Africa, on May 20, 2018.