Tomorrow Thursday 18 June 2015, four unions – the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), Metal and Electrical Workers Union of South Africa (Mewusa), Solidarity, the South African Equity Workers Association (SAEWA) and the umbrella employer organisation in the metal and engineering industry – Steel and Engineering Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA) will meet to consider the implications of Eskom’s proposed tariff hike for the sector and for the country’s economy.
The parties will also share notes on their approaches to next week’s National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) public hearings on Eskom’s application scheduled for 23-24 June 2015.
The metals and engineering industry which employs close to 400 000 employees contributes close to 30% of the country’s manufacturing output and about 6% of South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The sub-sectors that make the industry are energy intensive and electricity is a huge share of the sector’s input costs. Since the start of the spiral of increasing electricity prices, the industry has been hit hard and many firms are reeling from what are clearly are unaffordable tariffs.
After a closed session of the parties in the morning, a joint press conference will held and the media is invited to attend and report. Addressing the press conference will be:
- Karl Cloete – Numsa Deputy-General Secretary
- Henk Langenhoven – SEIFSA Chief Economist
- Edward Thobejane – Mewusa General Secretary
- Gideon du Plessis – Solidarity General Secretary
- Sipho Mayisela – SAEWA representative
The details of the press conference are as follows:
Date: Thursday 18 June 2015
Time: 14h00pm
Venue: Vincent Mabuyakhulu Conference Centre (VMCC)
155 Lillian Ngoyi Street (cnr. Gerard Sekoto St)
Newtown
Contact:
Castro Ngobese
National Spokesperson
Mobile: 083 627 5197
Tel (dir): 011 689 1702
Email: castron@numsa.org.za
Website: www.numsa.org.za