Fin24 reports that after a weekend of marathon meetings with Eskom leadership to reach a wage agreement, labour is likely to emerge with a position on whether to accept the power utility's latest offer on Tuesday.

The unions – the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and Solidarity – resumed wage negotiations on Friday after a deadlock in wage talks triggered wildcat protests at several Eskom plants, hindering vital maintenance work and plunging the country into Stage 6 load shedding. Eskom resumed wage talks with a revised offer of a 7% increase. The unions’ last demands stood at 10% in respect of the NUM, 12% for Numsa and 5.9% for Solidarity. The NUM’s Khangela Baloyi reported as follows on Monday: "We are meeting on Tuesday to finalise the wage agreement. We have a joint council with Numsa to consider the offer tomorrow morning [Tuesday]. Will probably know by tomorrow." Solidarity’s Helgarde Cronjé commented that the Eskom wage negotiations were at a critical stage and that it was in SA’s best interest that an agreement was reached between unions and Eskom to ensure labour stability and some sort of return to normal. "There is a drafted settlement agreement for the wage negotiations that NUM and Numsa have taken back to their members. Parties are meeting again tomorrow to give feedback. We trust you would understand the current sensitivity around the matter," Cronjé said. Meantime according to Baloyi, it was not clear as yet whether workers who were caught protesting at plants would face disciplinary action or dismissal as a result of disruptions to the electricity system.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24

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