The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Wednesday instructed Eskom to pay its workers R25,6 million.
The case was brought by the National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa), the National Union of Mineworkers (Num) and Solidarity, the former Mynwerkers Unie, and centred on a dispute about how productivity gains were to be shared between the electricity utility and workers.
Numsa shopsteward Gary Davies said that in 1999, the unions and Eskom concluded an agreement stipulating that in any financial year, profit would be equally shared between the company, employees and the public.
Davies, who presented the case to the commission on behalf of the three unions, said Eskom’s 28 000 workers were entitled to a third of R428 million made in 2000.
Eskom had not paid the entire R142,6 million to workers saying that R25,6 million had to go to managers.
However Davies said Eskom had taken out managers from the bargaining unit and this was a unilateral change to terms and conditions of employment.
Arbitrator Russell Moletsane decided that, on prima facie evidence, Eskom owed members of applicants who fell within the bargaining unit R25,6-million plus the interest that would have accrued from 1 April 2001 to 30 August 2002.
Moletsane said it was strange that the money earmarked for the managers, had not yet been paid to them and said it should go through this month’s payroll.
In welcoming the CCMA award Numsa called on Eskom’s management not to take it for review, which would further delay the implementation of the decision.
The union said it would mobilise its members against any such move.
In its reaction Eskom said it was aware of the CCMA award but was still studying the arbitrator’s decision and would make a comment soon. – Sapa