Eskom faces another big problem – 15,000 striking workers
Reuters reports that strike action has begun at Eskom on Monday with members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) downing tools at three power stations.
The news agency said that more would follow as NUM’s 14,824 members across all regions are prepared to strike.
Paris Mashego, NUM’s energy sector coordinator, told Reuters that wage talks with the utility were in deadlock over the weekend.
Eskom is reported to have offered a wage increase of 7%, which has been rejected by NUM.
The union’s demands include a one year wage agreement, of 12% increase for maximum wage earners and a 13% increase for minimum wage earners. Negotiations initially started at 18% for minimum wage earners and 16% for maximum wage earners.
In July, Eskom reported an increase in its bottom line profit for the year ending March 2016, to R4.6 billion, while revenue rose 10.6% to R163.4 billion.
Strike action comes on the day that Eskom celebrates a year of no load-shedding which plagued the country in 2015.
“Today we proudly celebrate 1 year of no load shedding, an achievement in Eskom’s turn-around strategy of supplying reliable electricity,” Eskom said on social media site, Twitter.
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