The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Wednesday it would call a national strike next month to protest job losses linked to the country’s electricity generation crisis.
The union said the strike would be the culmination of a series of protests launched in the provinces from July 2.
The country has suffered electricity shortages since the start of the year as Eskom struggles to generate enough power to meet demand.
Mining companies and other major electricity consumers have seen their power supplies rationed since the national grid came close to collapse in January, forcing big gold and platinum mines to shut down for five days.
”The action is … in response to the danger of retrenchments in the mining sector and elsewhere due to Eskom’s decision of to reduce electricity supply to industry and its threat to oppose any new major construction initiatives,” said spokesperson Patrick Craven.
”It will begin on 2 July 2008, with provincial action, continuing throughout the month of July and culminating in a national stay-away on 30 July.”
”This comes at the time when unemployment is still around 35% and poverty affects around half of the population,” said Craven.
He said Cosatu would work constructively to help find a lasting solution to the national power crisis.
Cosatu was demanding that the costs of the power failures not be borne by the poorest, that workers not be retrenched as a result of the cuts and that the electrification of poor households not be compromised.
It also wanted a package of short, medium and long-term measures and significant financial contribution by the government towards new power generation.
The mining sector should not be sacrificed in managing the crisis and electricity disruptions at hospitals, emergency services and other essential services should also be avoided.
”We should be prepared to review projects with a high power usage and low employment density. The smelters have been identified as a key area of concern,” said Craven
Power shortages have dented South Africa’s growth, which fell to a six-and-a-half year low of 2,1%, quarter-on-quarter, in the first three months of 2008, and heaped pressure on President Thabo Mbeki. – Sapa, Reuters