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Bloomberg News reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the largest trade union at Eskom, has called for the suspension of an $8.5 billion climate finance pact with some of the world's richest nations, as well as plans to break up the power utility into separate units.
Under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), SA agreed to begin moving away from generating electricity from coal to producing more renewable energy using financing from industrialised countries. As part of a broader transition plan, which did not use funding from JETP, Eskom last year shuttered its Komati coal-fired power plant, with more closures slated to follow. In a statement on Monday, the NUM indicated: "There is a clear lack of consultation with organised labour regarding the unbundling of Eskom, the drafting of the JET-IP, as well as decommission of Komati power station." A report released by SA’s Presidential Climate Commission on Friday laid the blame for poor communication and lack of consultation with workers and communities at Komati at the government's door. It also said Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa had caused confusion by saying Komati could have been kept open when it had, in fact, reached the end of its operational life. While a change from high-emission energy production to low-emission was necessary, the move should be "fair and just" to workers and their communities, the NUM said. It estimated that about 25,000 direct jobs and 26,000 indirect jobs would be lost if the process was conducted too hastily. "The energy transition which is taking place must be put on hold until such time that we are all convinced that the transition process will be fair," the union said.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Fin24
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