Eskom workers affiliated to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Monday downed tools after protracted wage negotiations broke down over the weekend at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
The NUM demanded a negotiable salary increase of 12 percent for the highest paid employees and 13 percent for the lowest-paid workers while Eskom has stuck to its guns at seven percent.
Wage negotiations for Eskom workers entered its fourth week on Monday after they began mid-July.
NUM’s Eskom energy sector coordinator, Paris Mashego, said about 15 percent of their 14,000 members at Eskom, among them operators and technicians, had downed tools after the union on Sunday reinstated a notice to go on strike.
“We know that Eskom says this is an illegal strike because its workers are part of essential services, but our members are tired of waiting for the employers while they are dragging their feet on this matter,†Mashego said.
He said NUM members were also angered by the low wage offer Eskom was putting on the table when it had made an unprecedented R4.6 billion profit for this year.
“Last year we got an increase of 8.5 percent across the board when Eskom only made R200 million profit. This year they made R4.6 billion but the wage offer is less than last year. Our members do not understand how this is happening,†Mashego said.
Mashego said since negotiations had deadlocked, each party could apply for interest arbitration, a process whereby the issues not resolved in bargaining between the employer and the union may be presented to an impartial arbitrator for final resolution.
“But both parties are not in favour of interest arbitration,†Mashego said.
Mashego said he had just received a letter from Eskom that the power utility had applied for Section 150 intervention, meaning that all parties must consent to the intervention.
He said the NUM had called an urgent national shop steward council meeting for Tuesday where a way forward would be discussed.
But Eskom spokesman, Khulu Phasiwe, denied that there was industrial action at the utility, saying any employee who was absent without leave would be held accountable.
“There’s no strike at Eskom. From our side, those are fugitives who are not at work and should account to their managers when they return,†Phasiwe said.
“They know that they cannot go on strike as they are essential service, just like the army or emergency services.â€
Phasiwe said Eskom was still open to negotiations with the NUM.
“We’ve referred this matter back to the CCMA for arbitration and just waiting for a date now, which will hopefully be this week,†Phasiwe said.
Meanwhile, Eskom released a statement saying it would mark exactly one year of no load shedding on Tuesday, largely due to the rigorous plant maintenance programme that it had executed over the past 12 months.
– African News Agency (ANA)
