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Eskom handled wage negotiations with disrespect: NUMSA’s Irvin Jim

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National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) General Secretary Irvin Jim says Eskom’s handling of the wage negotiations with workers was conducted in a disrespectful manner that undermined workers.

He says the burden of power cuts cannot be placed on workers because it has been a reality even before workers embarked on an unprotected strike.

Jim was speaking at a signing ceremony where unions agreed to the wage offer, which is effective from 1 July and ends on 30 June next year.

“If Eskom workers are an essential service, then they must be treated with respect, they must be regarded as essential workers, it is them that keep the lights on. We hope it is for the last time we experience the worst union-bashing attitude that was adopted in 2021 when Eskom could have the guts to remove the conditions of service that have a legacy of being negotiated in the past. It took this round of negotiations to restore those conditions of service.”

NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu says not all demands have been met: 

Eskom says the latest wage offer to workers is going to cost the power utility over a billion rand. The leadership of NUMSA, NUM, and Solidarity signed Eskom’s 7% wage offer.

The agreement also includes the reinstatement of changes to conditions of service and a R400 increase to the housing allowance.

“I think from an Eskom point of view, these were very prolonged engagements, they were not easy.  I must put it on record that the offer that we signed today, we actually can’t afford it as an organisation. We need to make plans to find additional money to fund this agreement. The impact on our wage bill is in excess of a billion,” says Human Resources Executive at Eskom Elsie Pule.

 

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