The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) notes that the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has conceded to the bullying tactics and continued undermining of collective bargaining processes by state-owned power utility – Eskom.
The CCMA has granted Eskom the award on 2013 Salary Increases pertaining to the failed and aborted wage negotiations in 2013. The award allows Eskom to single-handedly foist wage increases of 5, 6% to all its workers, outside the normal and ordinary consultation processes with union representatives, as per collective bargaining agreement in line with the Labour Relations Act (LRA) of 1996, as promulgated by the democratic government.
The CCMA’s award is an onslaught on workers’ rights to collective bargaining and our bloodiest hard-won right to strike. Furthermore, it confirms our long held suspicions that CCMA has been coerced and co-opted by certain powerful individuals and elites at Eskom to undermine fundamental workers’ rights to collectively bargain and improved their conditions of employment.
Eskom’s intentions in cahoots with the CCMA have been unmasked by their cheap tactics and blanket refusal not to give workers decent increases. If truth be told, Eskom is pushing for wage cuts and this sets a wrong precedent of paying workers increases even lower than the rate of inflation.
It is now clear to all and sundry that Eskom wants to retain and reproduce income disparities, amidst the high cost of living in modern day Capitalist South Africa, given the triple crisis of mass poverty, scandalous high rate of unemployment and deepening inequalities, mostly affecting the Black African working class and the poor.
As Numsa, we will be consulting our Shopstewards in Eskom nationally on 1-2 February 2014, to develop an organisational response to Eskom’s scandalous behavior to energy workers who keep the lights on and provide power to industries in the South African economy If Eskom refuses to meet with us, our options are clearly defined; we will push for a black-out by withdrawing our labour power.
Contact:
Castro Ngobese
National Spokesperson
Mobile (1): +2783 627 5197
(2): +2781 011 1137
Tel (dir): +2711 689 1702
Email: castron@numsa.org.za
Twitter: @castrongobese
Website: www.numsa.org.za