ANA reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Wednesday said its members would be marching on Saturday to the Union Buildings in Pretoria.  

This would be in protest against Independent Power Producers (IPPs), retrenchments, the privatisation of Eskom, the closure of power stations and the closure of coal mines.  NUM deputy president Philip Vilakazi said the union did not support what was currently happening at Eskom and was vehemently opposed to the Department of Energy signing 27 IPPs agreements, among other concerns.  He stated:  "We are extremely worried about the thousands of jobs that are going to be destroyed in Mpumalanga" and added that the most painful thing was that the renewable energy produced by the IPPs was going to be sold through Eskom.  "We are saying and we have said that Eskom is a government entity, if the IPPs have got power to generate, let them stand alone and compete with Eskom.  The NUM is going to defend these jobs."  Vilakazi also asserted:  "We will fight privatisation of Eskom and retrenchments with all we have, no matter at whose irritation that will be and we will stop at nothing but victory."

• Read the full original of this report by Thembelihle Mkhonza at IOL News
• Read the NUM’s press statement in this regard at NUM News

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