Eskom and the unions fail to reach an agreement in the last-resort talks

Marathon wage negotiations between workers' representatives and Eskom continued into the night of Tuesday in a last-ditch effort to avoid a stalemate and social unrest.

Sources close to the negotiations indicated that Eskom had increased its wage offer to the unions. % increases for 2018 and 6.5% for the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

Workers affiliated with the National Union of Miners (NUM) threatened to strike if Eskom did not comply with their demands, including an 8% wage increase for 2018

Sources involved in Talks said Tuesday night at Business Day that a settlement was unlikely, the biggest hurdle being workers' housing allowance and bonus applications.

Business Day understands that Eskom employees had, however, reduced their claim for housing allowance from 1,000 to 500 rand. Eskom always maintained that she could not afford to pay the bill.

The electricity company is heavily borrowed to the tune of R376bn and a huge payroll could worsen its financial situation. Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene recently said that the government could not afford to bail out Eskom if the need presented itself.

The public service has instead proposed an increase in housing allowance for the next three years. High Levels of Debt

With its high debt levels, Eskom said it would be difficult to afford wage demands in its current state, with management regularly insisting on the fact that she had not offered any increase to the workers. For example, he had to make some difficult changes if he had to stay afloat.

Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan closely monitored wage negotiations with a facilitator from his office at the talks.

Unions protested against the facilitator's involvement in the talks, NUM spokesman, Livhuwani Mammburu, declaring in a TV interview that he was welcome, but only in as an observer. [19659002L'interventiondeGordhanamisfinàuneimpbadeentreEskometlessyndicatsilyadeuxsemainesaprèsl'échecdespourparlersenraisondel'offresalarialed'Eskomà0%Puislepaysaétéconfrontéàdespannesd'électricitécarlescontraintesélectriquesd'Eskoml'ontforcéàmettreenœuvreundélestage[19659002] Although the Minister has recommended to the & # 39; time that & # 39 Eskom lifts its offer, the government said that he would not be able to finance the hikes.

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