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BL Premium reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) are demanding above-inflation wage hikes at state-owned power utility Eskom.
They say workers at state-owned enterprises have not received meaningful increases in two years, resulting in “very low” staff morale. The two unions, which represent most of Eskom’s estimated 46,000 workers, are demanding a one-year, 15% across-the-board wage hike, a housing allowance of R1,600, and for the “apartheid wage gap” to be closed. Tommy Wedderspoon of trade union Solidarity said they were demanding consumer price index (CPI) plus 2.5% (8.4%). Numsa’s and NUM’s wage demands are in line with the above-inflation increases public servants, mineworkers and steel sector workers are demanding. Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter said on Monday that Eskom was not in a position to grant a double-digit wage increase. “[Eskom] is still in a loss-making situation, I am not sure where Numsa gets the idea that we have lots of cash available,” he said at a briefing. The parties met at the Eskom central bargaining forum (CBF) last week for a second round of talks, but according to the unions the power utility’s management did not respond to their demands for higher wages for the 2022/2023 financial year. In a statement on Monday, Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said Eskom’s management had provided no justification for “claiming they cannot afford our demands”.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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