The first round of talks between Eskom and three unions representing over 20 000 employees was described as a failure by trade union Solidarity on Friday.
The electricity public utility company offered workers a 4% wage increase while the unions want 15%.
”The first round has failed. Their offer of 4% was very low; we are already thinking of protest action during the second session,” said Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleinhans.
The negotiations are being held between Eskom, and Solidarity, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Solidarity said the three unions together represent 20 000 Eskom employees.
Numsa spokesperson Mziwakhe Hlangani said the unions want a 15% wage increase, a R1 500 housing subsidy for employees and the reopening of negotiations on pension funds.
Hlangani said Eskom had taken the workers’ demands back to management for consultation.
Eskom is increasingly coming under fire over power failures occurring in various parts of the country, the most recent on Gauteng’s East Rand, which lasted for three days.
Kleynhans said Eskom should do all it could to retain their skilled workers who were ”leaving in droves”.
”A wage offer of 4% will do nothing to help the company solve its serious skills shortage.
”The widespread power failures that caused serious disruption over the past few months … provide proof enough that Eskom should do everything in its power to halt the exodus of skilled people from the company,” he said.
The second round of talks between Eskom and the unions starts on May 16 and will last three days.
Eskom spokesperson Fani Zulu could not immediately be reached for comment. — Sapa