TimesLive reports that Eskom has been granted a court order stopping the unprotected strike action at nine of its power stations and facilities.

Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer said on Friday the strike action and acts of intimidation against workers could increase the risk of load-shedding. Some employees went on an unprotected strike after a deadlock in wage negotiations on Tuesday.  “This morning [Friday] we went to court and an interdict was granted. This is an illegal strike and should any of our employees or colleagues conduct themselves in a way that is not appropriate we will take the necessary action. We have a disciplinary process,” Oberholzer indicated. Incidents of intimidation of employees and blocking roads to power stations and facilities had occurred. As a result, load-shedding was on Friday ramped up to stage 4 from 11am until midnight and will continue throughout the weekend as Eskom tries to conserve emergency reserves. Head of generation Rhulani Mathebula said many activities at power stations had had to stop, including the manual loading of coal. He said there were attempts to force employees out of power stations on Thursday, while some employees had stayed home for their own safety.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Shonisani Tshikalange at BusinessLive

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