/ 18 June 2010

New Eskom CEO faces strike

New Eskom CEO Brian Dames hasn’t got his feet under the table yet and is already facing a strike.

Dames takes office next month, but trade union Solidarity and Cosatu affiliates the Nation Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) are negotiating on their original demands of an 18% wage increase and the introduction of housing allowances.

Eskom is offering 7% and no housing allowance.

On Thursday the unions were doubtful an agreement would be reached soon. NUM spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said negotiations were on the brink of collapse “mainly because Eskom has failed to give the employees a housing allowance”.

For Solidarity, negotiations were at their “most difficult and sensitive point yet”, spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said. “Our original demand was 18% but this will be lowered by the end of [Thursday].”

Wage negotiations started on the April 14 in the hope they would be completed before the 2010 World Cup, Kleynhans said, but Eskom has been “dragging its feet”.

There was nothing on the table from Eskom regarding the housing subsidy, and “we are hoping for a breakthrough on that today — that may be a make or break offer”, Kleynhans said.

NUM has lowered its original demand of 18% to 15%’s and “the housing issue has been on the agenda for three years now”, Seshoka said.

Asked whether the unions would strike during the World Cup, Seshoka said the two are not related.
Kleynhans said Solidarity was committed to preventing any strike action. “It’s not that simple for Eskom employees to go on strike: they don’t have the right to strike like other employees at other companies because they offer essential services,” he said.

None of the trade unions thought Dames would improve anything. “It’s a matter of old dogs and new tricks. The new CEO has been part of Eskom’s management for too long, so he’s been part of all Eskom’s collective decisions,” Seshoka said.