“Eskom\u2019s average employee cost decreased from R775,000 to R735,000 as a result of the slight reduction of headcount from 44,000 to 42,000 and a management salary freeze. This is expected to be dampened by the 7% wage increase settlement over the next three years,” he said.<\/p>\n
Eskom said late last month<\/a> (31 August) that the Covid-19 pandemic negatively impacted its financial performance for the period ended March 2021, with sales volumes down 6.7%.<\/p>\n The group said it achieved operational cost savings of R14.4 billion during the year under review, against a target of R14.1 billion. Although sales volumes were down, primary energy costs increased 3.4% to R115.9 billion. Normalised operating costs increased 1.6%.<\/p>\n The group incurred a loss after tax of R18.9 billion, a slight improvement from the previous year\u2019s loss of R20.7 billion.<\/p>\n Eskom pointed to a 4.5% reduction in employee numbers, with a total of 2,023 employees leaving the service of Eskom through natural attrition and voluntary separation. This had the effect of reducing the headcount to 42,749 during the year, from 44,772.<\/p>\n \u201cThis means that over the past two years, Eskom has reduced its workforce by just under 4,000 employees,\u201d said Eskom chief executive Andr\u00e9 de Ruyter. \u201cIt must again be stated that not a single one of these was a forced retrenchment.\u201d<\/p>\n Amongst these were 74 voluntary separation packages granted to managerial level employees in the 2021 financial year, further reducing employee benefit costs and reducing the manager: employee ratio.<\/p>\n De Ruyter said previously that the group needs approximately 38,000 employees.<\/p>\n Eskom said that employee benefits costs were successfully managed within budget, driven by a reduction in headcount. Production bonuses of R129 million were paid to qualifying staff, while the group reported a reduction amounting to R179 million in overtime costs. “Further reduction remains a challenge, given poor plant performance,” it said.<\/p>\n Union concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n In May, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) called into question “the misleading statement” authored by Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha which indicated that the average salary of an Eskom employee was R737,000.<\/p>\n “This amount is not a true reflection of the situation in Eskom. Eskom is divided into a bargaining unit (T4 to T13) and the non-bargaining unit (T14 to Executives).<\/p>\n “The NUM and other trade unions in Eskom are currently bargaining for the T4 to T13. The highest amount that can be earned by a bargaining unit employee is R650,460 while the lowest salary is R174,180. Eskom is intentionally misleading the public to gain public sympathy,” it said.<\/p>\n “We have noticed this thread of misleading information from Eskom. This is a clear sign of negotiating in bad faith. If the average salary is at R737 000 that will only mean that the non-bargaining is earning a lot of money which pushes the average up,” the union said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Eskom1.png\")
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