Cosatu accuses Nersa of 'pickpocketing' workers by granting Eskom price hike
Trade union federation Cosatu has labelled the electricity tariff increase granted to Eskom as insensitive and careless.
On Thursday, national energy regulator Nersa gave Eskom the green light to hike electricity tariff by 19% from 1 April.
A further 13% adjustment will kick in the following year.
The announcement has been met with anger and disappointment by most South Africans already suffering under relentless stage 6 load shedding.
Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla says the hikes the power utility has been receiving since 2006 are nothing more than legalised robbery of consumers.
"This will be a devastating blow to workers and businesses struggling to survive in an economy that is still reeling from Covid-19 lockdowns and rampant inflation. It will be a further burden to companies struggling to keep afloat because of a stagnant economy.
"These increases only serve to pickpocket workers of their meagre wages, suffocate businesses and deny the economy the chance to reduce unemployment. If government does not address these root causes of Eskom’s crises, then we will see Eskom return to Nersa by June asking for additional double digit tariff hikes."
Meanwhile, Saftu general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi says giving Eskom more money without full transformation is a recipe for failure.
"We still oppose the approval of vast 18,65% tariff hike, as it will devastate the budgets of poor and working people, especially women, and Eskom’s strategy is still aimed at generation privatisation without genuine decarbonisation.
"This latest tariff increase should be looked at from a long-term perspective. Combined with increases in the past 15 years, the electricity tariff is more than 800% higher than 2007."
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