Trade union Solidarity will on Friday approach the Labour Court in Johannesburg to have State-owned power provider Eskom’s current employment equity plan declared invalid and revoked.
Eskom’s employment equity plan is expected to be in force until 2020.
Solidarity Centre for Fair Labour Practices head Anton van der Bijl said the trade union was not consulted, as stipulated in Section 16 of the Employment Equity Act. “Although Solidarity tried to contact Eskom on many occasions with regard to the plan, our issues and questions have remained unanswered,” he noted.
“The trade union argues that the current employment equity plan is unlawful because Eskom did not consult with Solidarity beforehand as stipulated in the Employment Equity Act; therefore, Eskom and Solidarity could not come to an agreement with regard to the numerical targets contained in the employment equity plan,” Solidarity added.
In an emailed response to Engineering News Online, Eskom said it could not comment on the matter as it had been referred to the Labour Court, making its sub judice. “We will be in a position to comment on the matter once it has been dealt with at the Labour Court,” the utility said.