Customers queue for fuel at a petrol station in Johannesburg, Friday, August 3. Gasoline stations ran dry and long lines formed at the few which still had supplies as a five-day-old strike by fuel sector workers gripped many parts of South Africa. - AP Photo/Alan Murdoch

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP)

Hopes rose yesterday of an end to a week-long fuel sector strike which has caused gasoline shortages and prompted panic buying by motorists throughout South Africa.

Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said she had had held talks with employer and union leaders and was confident "a resolution to the current dispute is imminent."

Members of the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers' Union went on strike last Monday to press their claims for a 9.5 per cent wage increase. Media reports said the two sides had agreed to an offer of 8.5 per cent.

Mandate

Union leaders spent the day seeking a fresh mandate from its members. They were due to resume talks Monday evening with the National Employers Petroleum Association and were expected to endorse the agreement in principle.

The strike caused the closure of two key refineries. Gasoline stations, especially in Johannesburg, ran dry late last week as petrol companies struggled to find non-striking drivers and get supplies past picket lines.

Oil company BP said it hoped to have business as usual on Tuesday morning.

"While we expect an immediate end to the strike, the parties will reconvene discussions ... to bring matters to finality," BP spokeswoman Zipporah Mothoa said in reference to the evening meeting.

SA Petroleum Industry Association director Connel Ngcukana told the South African Press Association that he was also upbeat about a settlement.

There has been a spate of strikes in South Africa - with more looming. Unions say that ordinary workers have not benefited from the country's prolonged economic boom and are angry about the huge salaries enjoyed by company bosses.

The Government fears that the pay settlements will increase inflation, which has topped six per cent.