Solidarity says it has Eskom\u2019s racial reform plan on paper, despite Public Enterprises Minister Lynn Brown saying that the group\u00a0will not sack 3,000 white workers over the next five years.<\/p>\n
This is according to statements and documents from both parties received by the workers union.<\/p>\n
“Either Brown or Eskom is [being] dishonest about Eskom\u2019s objectives regarding racial numbers for its staff,” the union said in a statement on Wednesday (8 April).<\/p>\n
According to Solidarity, Brown denied that Eskom wanted to get rid of more than 3,000 white staff members within the next five years.<\/p>\n
Solidarity quoted Brown saying that Eskom should transform, but that it was not going to happen as the group needs the expertise and skills of experienced employees.<\/p>\n
However, Piet le Roux, head of the Solidarity Research Institute, said that Eskom maintained to Solidarity that white employees would be disproportionately reduced in accordance with it’s five year target.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have Eskom\u2019s racial plan on paper in front of us. In the first year of Eskom\u2019s racial plan, the company plans to reduce its white employees by 1,080, a 14% decrease in the number of white employees compared with a planned 4.8% decrease in the number of employees of other racial groups.”<\/p>\n
“It seems that Eskom harbours similar plans for the following four years and that thousands of white employees will eventually be gone after five years,\u201d Le Roux said.<\/p>\n
The Solidarity spokesperson said up to now, Eskom has given no indication that the company would abandon its racial targets.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn reaction to a recent letter from Solidarity, Eskom once again confirmed that it considered the strict implementation of racial transformation to be non-negotiable, and that the company, upon instruction of Labour Director General Thobile Lamati, awarded race the highest priority in its appointment targets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile,\u00a0power shortages in South Africa as a result of an ongoing crisis at Eskom has curbed economic growth by as much as 10%, while also preventing mass employment opportunities, according to chief economist at Efficient Group, Dawie Roodt.<\/p>\n
Roodt said that the country\u2019s estimated economic expansion of 2% this year could have been at least 1 percentage point higher had it not been for load shedding, and that\u00a0the economy could have been about 10% bigger than it actually was by the end of 2014, had the power situation been stable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is more than 300 billion rand ($25.3 billion), or more than a million job opportunities,\u201d the economist said.<\/p>\n
A presentation by the department of public enterprises to parliament at the end of March said that power cuts implemented by Eskom cost South Africa\u2019s economy between $1.7 billion (R20 billion) and $6.8 billion (R80.1 billion) a month.<\/p>\n
Eskom load shedding warning amid cold weather<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Eskom a \u201cpositive crisis\u201d: ANC<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n