Deputy Minister Sibiya’s address on the occasion of the Petroleum Industries Employers’ Breakfast Session
Birchwood Hotel
Programme Director: Lindani Lafoy;
CEO: Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC), Mr Sicelo Nduna;
CEO: Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO), Mr Paulos Masemola;
CEO: Fuel Retail Association, Mr Reggie Sibiya;
CEO: South African Petroleum Retailers Association, Mr Vishal Premlall;
Rand Mutual Assurance, Mr Ernest Hadzi, and all representatives from Rand Mutual Assurance;
Chief Inspector, Ms Milly Ruiters;
Chief Director: Provincial Operations, Mr Tshepo Mokomatsidi;
Senior managers from all sector departments and inspectors of the Department of Employment and Labour;
Representatives of Organised Business;
Representatives of Organised Labour and the Bargaining Council;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning, Sanibonani!
Programme Director, thank you for the introduction and the excellent manner in which you are driving the programme.
Petrol stations play a very crucial role in South Africa's fossil fuel-driven economy as they supply liquid fuels for over 12 million vehicles; provide the necessary fuel for heavy machinery used in industrial and agricultural activities; and employ more than 140 000 people throughout the country.
Gauteng Province has the highest concentration of petrol station workers, accounting for roughly one-third of all petrol station jobs in South Africa. This is followed by KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. Together, these three provinces represent about two-thirds of total petrol station employment in the country.
Workers in this industry are exposed to petrol and diesel that are petroleum hydrocarbons. Inhaling gasoline and diesel fumes can cause lung irritation as well as confusion, disorientation, headache, blurred vision, dizziness, weakness and sleepiness. Abnormal cardiac rhythms are also possible, though less likely than with other types of hydrocarbons. Skin exposure can cause irritation and redness, while prolonged exposure results in chemical burns.
Following a complaint from NUMSA regarding non-compliance with employment laws by the petroleum industry and the reluctance of some Class XIII employers in the iron, steel, garages and metal industries to transfer from the Compensation Fund to Rand Mutual Assurance, the Department, in partnership with RMA, initiated a Blitz Inspections Project.
The Blitz Inspections Project aims to assess compliance with employment laws in the petroleum industry and identify establishments that have not transferred to RMA in accordance with Gazette No. 38044. It began in April 2026 and will continue until all fuel stations in Gauteng Province have been inspected in terms of compliance with the following legislation:
- Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)
- Unemployment Insurance Act (UIA)
- Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA)
- Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)
Since the inception of the project in April, the Department has identified a significant number of filling stations that are not covered by any of the compensation insurance options available to employers.
Moreover, a total of 682 inspections were conducted at filling stations that are operated under the major fuel brands, including Shell, Engen, BP, Astron, Sasol, TotalEnergies, Caltex and other independent operators. Of the 682 inspections conducted, 308 employers, or 45%, were found compliant and 374, or 55%, were found non-compliant. A total of 623 foreign nationals were also found during inspections, comprising 313 females and 310 males.
Preventing occupational exposure to petrol and diesel fuel is important to prevent occupational diseases and requires engineering controls, personal protective equipment (PPE) and safe work practices to minimise inhalation of vapours and skin contact.
Engineering and administrative controls
- Use local exhaust ventilation in enclosed work areas such as maintenance bays or fuelling stations to capture fumes.
- Rotate tasks to limit the duration of exposure for individual workers.
- Ensure proper maintenance of fuel lines, pumps and valves to prevent leaks or spills.
Personal protective equipment
- Wear nitrile or Viton gloves to prevent skin absorption of hydrocarbons.
- Use eye protection or face shields if splashing risks exist during transfer or maintenance.
- Wear respirators with organic vapour cartridges when working in high-concentration vapour environments where ventilation is insufficient.
Safe work practices
- Avoid siphoning fuel by mouth and never use fuel to wash skin or clothes.
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water immediately after any contact.
- Store fuels in approved, tightly sealed containers away from heat sources and ignition points in well-ventilated spaces.
Programme Director, the Council recently concluded and gazetted its Main Collective Agreement, which will remain in force until 31 August 2028.
That is no small achievement. It gives employers certainty on which to plan their businesses, and it assures workers that their wages, their leave, their protection against unfair termination and their retrenchment benefits are secured for years to come, rather than being renegotiated in a crisis every 12 months.
The Agreement applies the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the National Minimum Wage Act as the statutory floor beneath which no worker may fall. It commits the parties to equal work for equal pay in line with the Employment Equity Act.
It contains a peace clause under which the parties agree not to embark on industrial action over wage and salary matters once agreed adjustments have been implemented. It recognises the need to expand the Training Layoff Scheme so that short time becomes an opportunity to reskill rather than simply a reduction in pay.
I commend the parties for reaching that agreement, and I commend you for choosing stability over brinkmanship.
That agreement rests on a principle this Department holds dear: bargaining within the motor industry takes place at centralised level, with no two-tier bargaining on matters of mutual interest, save for the limited plant-level wage engagements permitted in Sector Six.
Centralised bargaining is not a bureaucratic preference.
It is the mechanism through which small operators, who could never negotiate on equal footing with a large national employer, are protected by the same floor of rights as everyone else. It is the mechanism through which a worker in a small-town workshop enjoys the same basic protection as a worker in a large metropolitan dealership.
Where some argue that this system should be dismantled in favour of fragmented, plant-by-plant bargaining, they are, whether they intend it or not, arguing for a return to a world where bargaining power belongs only to the strongest party at the table.
I also want to commend the commitment in your Agreement to equal work for equal pay. This is not a box to be ticked. It is a daily obligation on every employer represented in this room to ensure that two employees performing the same work, at the same grade, under the same conditions, are paid the same wage regardless of who they are.
Where that principle is not honoured in practice, it undermines everything this Council has built.
This Council's peace clause deserves particular attention this morning. The parties have agreed not to embark on industrial action over wage and salary matters once agreed adjustments have been implemented, and that any industrial action outside those terms, until the Agreement lapses in 2028, will be unprotected.
I want to be direct with both organised labour and organised business in this room. Honour that clause. A protected strike is a legitimate and constitutionally guaranteed tool, but an unprotected strike serves no one.
It costs workers their wages, it costs employers their operations, and it costs the industry the confidence of the customers and investors who depend on it running smoothly.
Where disagreements arise, and they always will in any healthy bargaining relationship, this Council's own Dispute Resolution Centre exists precisely to resolve them before they harden into confrontation.
Use it. Do not wait for matters to escalate to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration when a swifter, sector-specific remedy sits within your own structures.
I also want to raise the Training Layoff Scheme. Too many workers in this industry have experienced short time or unpaid leave when businesses face partial closure.
This Department, together with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, remains committed to working with this Council to expand that scheme so that short time becomes an opportunity to reskill a worker rather than simply a reduction in their pay packet.
I ask this Council to treat that work as urgent, not aspirational.
Finally, I must speak about the future of this industry, because the motor trade of tomorrow will not look like the motor trade of today. Electric and hybrid vehicles are changing the skills that mechanics, technicians and panel beaters require.
The digitalisation of diagnostics, parts supply and dealership operations is changing the nature of clerical and sales work.
If this Council does not plan now for the reskilling of its workforce, through apprenticeships, learnerships and partnerships with the Skills Development framework already recognised in your Agreement, then the jobs protected so carefully by your wage schedules today may simply not exist in the form we recognise within a decade.
I ask employers to invest in training beyond the legal minimum, and I ask trade unions to champion that training as strongly as you champion wages, because a skill is a wage that cannot be retrenched.
Programme Director, it is important to emphasise that compliance with all labour legislation administered by the Department is important.
Let me also take this opportunity to thank Organised Labour, Organised Business, RMA, the Compensation Fund and, last but not least, the Department of Employment and Labour's Inspectorate for your commitment to deal with challenges in this sector.
As a Department, we value partnerships. As stated in an African proverb: “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
I know that what I have said seems to be a mouthful, but let us remember that we must work together to ensure decent work in the world of work.
Now that we have seen the impact of climate change in the world of work, let us remember the words of Maya Angelou: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
Our workers and their families depend on the decisions we take on the protection required.
I thank you.
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