Cape Town – Wage negotiations between Eskom and the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) were expected to continue on Friday at the Central Bargaining Forum (CBF), despite the power utility being accused of using “delaying tactics”.
Numsa said after they entered their first day of wage talks, Eskom “behaved appallingly by failing to present written submissions to the CBF”.
Numsa national spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said: “We were supposed to start negotiations at 9am, but we ended up starting at 12:45pm because Eskom needed time to write its submissions, so that it could be shared with all parties. It took them nearly three hours to respond.
“Secondly, when they eventually did respond, they wasted everyone’s time again, by falsely claiming that most of the demands which we had made should not be ventilated in the CBF, but should be raised in other Eskom forums. This is nonsense.
“They did not even respond to the demands, to say whether they can afford them or not…
“They are not negotiating in good faith because these are the same issues which have definitely been raised in the CBF before and a collective agreement was reached on them,” said Hlubi-Majola.
The union demands a two-year wage agreement; a 15% wage increase; correcting the income differentials; six months’ full pay maternity leave and 14 days paternity leave; 80% medical aid contribution from the employer and 20% contribution from workers; no closure of power stations; and a housing allowance increase of R1 175.
“The only demand which Eskom responded to was to inform us that they want a one-year agreement, and they are only offering a 3.75% increase…
“We condemn Eskom for their unprofessionalism and also for their frequent delaying tactics. This is not how the executive management of a SOE should behave. It is unheard of for negotiators to arrive at a session of this nature with written notes, instead of a clear presentation of their position,” said Hlubi-Majola.
Eskom confirmed that it was still in wage negotiations with unions.
“Eskom is expecting feedback from organised labour on the offer that Eskom made yesterday (Wednesday),” it said.
It further denied that it was ill-prepared for wage negotiations.
“In terms of the Code of Good Practice on Collective Bargaining, parties are required to respond to offers and demands in writing. Eskom had a written response which they intended to send to the unions only after it has contextualised the content.
“Trade unions wanted the written document prior to contextualisation,” said Eskom.
Cape Times