Numsa: Eskom will use wage talks as ‘load shedding scapegoat’
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) claims power utility Eskom will try and use wage talks as a "convenient scapegoat” to implement another round of load shedding.
Unions and Eskom are expected to be locked in wage talks from Tuesday until Friday.
Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says although wage talks have not even started, they believe Eskom has already begun with its "dirty tricks".
"We reject the desperate attempt by Eskom in its latest statement, to link power cuts to wage talks.
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"It is an objective fact that the current management of Eskom under the leadership of Andre De Ruyter is failing to keep the lights on, and that under his watch, the country has experienced the worst case of loadshedding in history.
"The poor and the working class who live in our townships are subjected to nearly five hours of rolling blackouts every day, through ‘load reduction’."
Demands from Numsa inlcude a 1-year wage agreement, a 15% wage increase and an end to salary disparities.
"The principle of equal pay for work of equal value must be applied. We need to make sure that the pay gap between these groups must not exceed fifty per cent. It must be above the midpoint,” Hlubi-Majola says.
