Cabinet: Destruction of Eskom property 'economic sabotage'
Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane has described the destruction of Eskom property during the recent wildcat strikes as "economic sabotage."
Mokonyane briefed the media on the outcomes of the cabinet meeting on Thursday.
“We have the Labour Relations Act, we have the right of workers protected in terms of their right to protest, but nobody is entitled to destroy property.
"It is an act of sabotage it is going to cost the state and hence we say, no one has the right to destroy property, and in this instance it is an act of economic sabotage, and therefore the amended act must kick in and deal with these issues,” she said.
Mokanyane said several suspects have been arrested in connection with the damage to property.
“There is a law in South Africa that has been passed in line with the Criminal Procedure Act where there is an amendment that deals with destruction of public property as an act of crime. It is within that, that even the destruction of property in terms of what we have seen at Eskom must be deemed as an act of crime.”
“We have the Labour Relations Act, we have the right of workers protected in terms of their right to protest, but nobody is entitled to destroy property.
"It is an act of sabotage it is going to cost the state and hence we say, no one has the right to destroy property, and in this instance it is an act of economic sabotage, and therefore the amended act must kick in and deal with these issues,” she said.
Mokanyane said several suspects have been arrested in connection with the damage to property.
“There is a law in South Africa that has been passed in line with the Criminal Procedure Act where there is an amendment that deals with destruction of public property as an act of crime. It is within that, that even the destruction of property in terms of what we have seen at Eskom must be deemed as an act of crime.”
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Eskom and trade unions entered their third and final days of wage negotiations on Thursday.
The three unions, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and Solidarity, have rejected the power utility’s revised offer of a 4,7% wage hike.