White employees may strike after being omitted from Sasol’s new empowerment scheme
Solidarity hopes that Sasol takes white workers’ need at heart
SECUNDA – White employees of Sasol have been given the go-ahead to strike because they have been omitted from the company’s new empowerment scheme, Khanyisa.
Mr Deon Reyneke, deputy secretary of the trade union Solidariteit, announced this finding from the Commission for Conciliation, Mitigation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Monday, 28 May.
He said this is a huge win for Solidariteit.
“The CCMA made history with their rule that employees are allowed to embark on a strike action due to the racial exclusion of the personnel shares scheme.”
Sasol announced last year that the Inzalo scheme which ended on 18 May this year, would be replaced by Khanyisa that excludes white employees.
Mr Reyneke said Solidariteit received feedback from Sasol in which it stated that to include whites in Khanyisa would go against transformation. Solidariteit declared a dispute at the CCMA to obtain permission for white workers to legally strike in order to demand equal benefits.
According to Mr Reyneke, the CCMA concluded that the union’s dispute should be classified as a case of communal interest and should be further investigated.
“We hope Sasol will come to new insights in its negotiations and to take the grievances of their white employees to heart so that we can reach an amicable agreement that will include all workers,” Mr Reyneke said.
