M&G reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is prepared to take its fight for the right to strike at power utility Eskom all the way to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt).
The union hinted at this on the back of its plan for about 15,000 members at Eskom to down tools on Monday. The NUM is seeking a revised wage offer from Eskom by the end of Thursday, otherwise it will serve the utility with a strike notice. This is likely to trigger court action, with Eskom seeking a possible court interdict because its employees are classified as essential services workers, said Paris Mashego, the NUM’s energy sector co-ordinator.
Wage talks involving the NUM, Solidarity and Numsa deadlocked at the CCMA last Monday. The next day the NUM served Eskom bosses with a certificate of deadlock, demanding a revised offer or face a strike. Mashego said the union’s members across the country have given it a mandate to take their fight all the way to the ConCourt if necessary. They want their classification as essential services workers reviewed.
- Read this report by Jessica Bezuidenhout in full at M&G (limited access)
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