Creamer Media Login

Eskom says workers protest at some plants

23rd June 2022

Font size: - +

Tensions are rising at Eskom, with the struggling South African electricity supplier confirming protests at a number of power plants following a breakdown in wage negotiations.

Groups at six coal-fired stations “have blocked roads leading to some of the power stations, which hampers the movement of people and goods into or outside of the facilities,” spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said in a text message on Thursday. “While some incidents of intimidation have been reported, the protesters are largely peaceful at this stage.”

The development adds pressure on the State-owned utility, already failing to meet electricity demand and forced to implement controlled blackouts to keep the grid from a total collapse. Eskom, which generates almost all of the nation’s power, reached a deadlock with labour unions in pay talks earlier this week.

The company’s last major wage negotiations in 2018 broke down into labour protests -- considered illegal because the utility provides an essential service -- that resulted in electricity shortages. A three-year deal was then signed for pay increases of as much as 7.5% annually.

Some of Thursday’s demonstrators wore union gear, Mantshantsha said. The police have been alerted.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) are the two biggest labour groups at Eskom. The energy coordinator for NUM didn’t immediately return a call and text message. A spokesperson for NUMSA declined to comment.

Edited by Bloomberg

Comments

The functionality you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

Click Here

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

➕

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

➕

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION

➕