South African synthetic fuels maker Sasol said yesterday that about 300 of its workers went on strike yesterday, at the company's Secunda plant.

However, Solidarity trade union put the number of striking workers at 1 000, all employed at Sasol's coal-mining operations, and said the workers were demanding a higher wage increase and were objecting to “deteriorating safety conditions at Sasol”.

Sasol spokesperson Johann van Rheede refused to discuss the details of the wage dispute, but the trade union said in a statement that Sasol is offering a 6% salary increase, while workers are demanding a 10% wage hike.

Van Rheede confirmed that management received a memorandum from the union during the strike, but refused to discuss it in detail.

“That is our private concern. It is a matter between Sasol, the workers and Solidarity, and we are not prepared to enter into a public debate about it,” he commented.

Meanwhile, it is understood that Solidarity is unhappy about being excluded from an internal investigation into a recent explosion at the company's ethylene plant, which killed seven people.

“Sasol's actions show a disregard for transparency. The company is manipulating the process by excluding the trade union's experts from the proceedings,” Solidarity alleged.

Two earlier explosions, at the Synfuels Phenosolvan West plant on June 21, and at the Middelbult coal-mine on July 1, led to the deaths of two people.

Meanwhile, speaking at the company's annual results presentation yesterday, Sasol executive Trevor Munday said the company does not see any causal link between the incidents.

“But the group executive is doing some serious introspection to see whether there are indeed any themes that are not obvious to us at the moment. Sasol takes this very seriously and we are highly distressed by the latest incident,” he commented.

The incidents, he added, occurred at Sasol's mining and polymers operations, which have been, until now, progressively improving their performances on safety.

“It has been an improvement over years and even the recent past. So these were accidents out of the blue and very distressing,” Munday stated.

Sasol CE Pieter Cox stressed that the company would do all it could to determine what happened, why it happened, and to learn from it and to prevent a similar incident ever happening again.

“We are aware and very sensitive to the views and the interest of other parties and there's been much in the press in recent days about the union, and I can also say that we welcome any inputs that are constructive and can help us in our deliberations, coming also from outside quarters.

“We've also brought an enquiry under the leadership of the Department of Labour. It will take place and all parties will be afforded the opportunity of contributing to those investigation and the evidence that is led, of course, will be tested and made known,” Cox explained.

Meanwhile, Solidarity said it would continue with the strike today.