NATIONAL NEWS - Eskom announced that it has contingency measures in place to lessen the effects of the industrial action over a wage freeze at the cash-strapped energy utility planned for this Thursday, 14 June.
Eskom said in a statement that, while it sympathises with its over 47 000 employees‚ it is constrained by the difficult financial situation it faces.
"Eskom has noted the statements made by the trade unions about their intentions to embark on an industrial action this Thursday.
Eskom has been designated as an essential service provider‚ and therefore our employees are reminded that they are not allowed to participate in strike actions. In an effort to ensure security of power supply‚ Eskom will activate its contingency measures should the industrial action take place."
Sunday Times reported Eskom has a huge debt burden of R350-billion‚ increasing by about R70-billion a year.
On Tuesday well-known economist and founder of The Economist magazine, Mike Schussler, said on an RSG programme that, under the current contraction of the economy and bearing in mind that Eskom employees are amongst the top earners in the country, the strike is inadvisable. With Eskom's current debt crisis, any further production and tariff increases will have a dampening effect on our economy.
SA GDP at an all-time low
The South African economy shrank a seasonally adjusted annualised 2,2 percent on quarter in the first three months of the year, reversing from a 3,1 percent growth in the previous period and market expectations of a 0,5 percent decline. The Trading Economics website stated this week, "It is the biggest contraction since the first quarter of 2009 as production declined for field crops, horticultural products, platinum group metals, iron ore and steel. Eskom has dragged its regulator‚ Nersa‚ to court over its tariff decision and is toughing it out against employees with a wage freeze‚ despite the growing prospect of a strike."
Court case
Nersa, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, granted Eskom a 5,23% tariff increase for 2018/19‚ against the 19,9% that Eskom had applied for. Businesses and the public opposed the increase that Eskom wanted‚ following the increases in tariffs of about 25% a year that Eskom was allowed five years ago when its financial position became critical.
Article compiled by Pauline Lourens.
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