As the latest round of Eskom wage negotiations is under way until the end of May, trade unions the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and Solidarity have confirmed they have rejected Eskom’s offer of a 3.75% increase, owing to it being below the inflation rate of 7.1%.
The negotiations will span three rounds, with the first having been held on April 19.
The NUM, Numsa and Solidarity have called on Eskom to sign a multiyear wage agreement of two years, to help enable stabilisation of the power utility.
However, Eskom has refused to implement a multiyear wage agreement, citing its dire financial constraints as the reason for the refusal.
The unions say Eskom has said it cannot afford the unions’ demands; however, the unions have rejected this claim. They say Eskom has failed to demonstrate that it is unable to afford an inflation-level increase for employees and that the entity has not made efforts to reduce the cost of procuring coal, diesel or electricity generated by independent power producers.
“They do not have a problem with paying these service providers exorbitantly every year, but workers of the bargaining unit, whose benefits and packages have remained the same since 2016/17, are told to accept it. If Eskom is not willing to intervene on the escalating cost drivers of primary energy costs, such as coal costs, they must not expect labour to reduce their demands,” the unions state.
The next round of wage talks will start on May 8.