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Pump-jockey wage: Readers respond

The Wheels24 report about fuel forecourt attendants looking at a big pay rise caused a furore among our readers - here's how it went down.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) is in a wage dispute with the auto industry after declaring a dispute because employers had not responded to union demands for at least R6000 a month and a R30-an-hour increase for workers earning more than R6000 a month - which would almost double that amount.

'JUST PLAIN GREEDY'


Wheels24 received a host of comments from readers, most of whom called for ditching pump jockeys in favour of self-service as used in the UK and USA.

Vinesh Moodley, for instance, was vociferous: “Viva pump jockeys viva! and next up are supermarket packers who deserve R8000 pm...let’s not stop there, this is fun! How about the guy that waves the red flag warning drivers on a road being maintained? I strongly suggest R7000 pm and car guards surely deserve a basic wage of R5000 pm with a minimum tip of R10 per car.

“Give them 6000 pm if they are capable of checking tyre pressures and wiping the windscreen simultaneously!”

Frik Steyn:: “The cheek! What do they have in skills that qualifies them for R6000 per month? The fact that they got kids by the hundreds or the fact that they are just plain greedy! I agree, fire them all and it will eliminate scratches on my car if I do it myself.”

Skhumbuzo Khumalo: “If I had a fuel station I would certainly lobby government to allow people to fill up their own cars. It’s as simple as swiping your and the bowser (fuel pump) is automatically credited with fuel. Or you can simply use the money (coins and notes) into an allocated slot. This would allow fuel station owners to make more profit (more tax revenues) and then invest into our economy, thereby employing more skilled people.

“The skill levels required for being a fuel attendant is almost similar to that of a car guard anyway. We are fooling people and letting them rot in low skilled and low paying jobs.”


'PLEASE BAN ALL UNIONS'

Wheels24 readers also called for the government to ban unions in South Africa.

Cor Pretorius: “We know how unions operate, they will burn your fuel station down. South Africa need jobs for the unskilled but unions and minimum wage disputes destroy affordability.”

BLUESILVER2012:Government, please ban all unions in SA, they taking us the same way the unions did in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s."

Some readers called for minimum wages linked to workers’ qualifications. Others proposed that vehicle owners be given the choice of self-service or pump jockey, the latter at a premium.

Vho Rapea: "Government must just put in force minimum wages linked to qualification, a person without matric shouldn't earn more than R2500 pm and so forth. Candidate attorneys with Law degrees earn as little as R3000 which is ridiculous."

Raybiez: “I sympathises with these lower-paid workers, they need to be realistic as well. Perhaps the solution is to allow for self-service stations, reducing the 100 000 workforce over time. Those who want to use attendant service can do so at a premium.”

Should pump-jockeys receive R6000 a month? Email us and make use of our homepage voting booth
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