Cape Town – Eskom and three trade unions are on Tuesday, 13 June, set to engage in further wage negotiations after three unsuccessful rounds.
Eskom offered a revised wage increase of 5.25%, but the unions are demanding double-digit raises.
To avoid another impasse, Eskom has agreed to extend the negotiations, starting on Tuesday, EWN reported.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), and Soliadrity have all rejected Eskom’s final offer and are seeking wage increases between 9% and 12%.
“Food inflation is extremely high, and the cost of fuel and basic goods has skyrocketed. And to make matters worse, the South African Reserve Bank has hiked interest rates, which means our members are going to struggle even more to make ends meet,” Numsa said in May.
Eskom cannot plead poverty when it wastes over R3 BILLION per annum on private security contracts. Workers @Eskom_SA deserve a meaningful increase! Details in our press statement below ????❤️??#NUMSALeads@IrvinJimSA pic.twitter.com/P2wlW2SkA0
— NUMSA (@Numsa_Media) May 26, 2023
The unions also have additional demands, such as a standard allowance of R1 000 and the reinstatement of performance bonuses at 25% of annual salary.
Although an agreement was reached on amending grievance and disciplinary procedures, significant differences remain between Eskom and the unions.
If negotiations fail, the unions will move into dispute resolution, followed by conciliation and arbitration processes, EWN reported.
The power utility is attempting to prevent a strike by dissatisfied workers through further negotiations at the Centralised Bargaining Forum.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
