BusinessLive writes that Eskom’s decision to lodge a dispute at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has cornered trade unions after months of wage negotiations that have not yielded results.
The application will enable the CCMA to make a determination in the form of an award, after arbitration processes are concluded, in favour or against the state power utility. The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) have refused to sign a wage agreement they accepted in principle after Eskom said it would charge workers for embarking on an illegal strike. The CCMA will view the allegations levelled against employees by Eskom’s management and the evidence submitted by unions before deciding how the parties should proceed. The arbitration awarded by the CCMA will be legally binding on all parties. The unions said on Sunday they were still awaiting a date from the CCMA on the start of the arbitration process. The wage agreement that will be signed by the parties when the matter is concluded at the CCMA currently amounts to a 7.5% increase this year, 7% in 2019 and in 2020, with an additional R10,000 once-off payment to employees.
- Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at BusinessLive
- Read too, How do the Eskom unions sleep at night? at Moneyweb
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page