NUMSA rejects Eskom’s latest wage offer of 4,5% increase

23 May 2023

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) rejects Eskom’s latest wage offer which was tabled at the Centralized Bargaining Forum (CBF) earlier today. Eskom has tabled a wage offer of 4,5% wage increase across the board, this is a shift from the initial offer of 3,75% increase. They also insist on a one-year agreement. They have also not engaged fully with the other demands we have tabled and they want to defer them to other structures like the Central Consultative Forum (CCF) of Eskom.

NUMSA’s core demands are as follows:

1.     12% wage increase (we have reduced our demand from 15% to 12%)

2.     A two year wage agreement

3.     Correcting the income differentials

4.     6 months full pay maternity leave and 14 days paternity leave

5.     80% medical aid contribution from the employer and 20% contribution from workers

6.     No closure of power stations

7.     Housing allowance increase of R1100

We have rejected the wage proposal made by Eskom management. What they have basically proposed is a 0,75% increase and this is not even based on CPI. Eskom is not taking into account the impact of the cost of living on ordinary workers of Eskom. Our members at the CBF have been denied proper increases, whilst their benefits and conditions were slashed.

At the same time, Eskom spends 70% of its operational cost on paying bloated Primary Energy cost which benefit the private sector only, but it spends only 8% of its operational cost on workers’ salaries in the CBF. The finances presented by Eskom management demonstrate that it can definitely afford to pay workers demands because they are not doing anything to intervene in the biggest cost drivers, which are the Primary Energy costs which have ballooned from R83 billion, in the 2017 financial year, to R155 billion in the 2023 financial year. The cost of workers’ salaries and benefits have remained the same since 2016/17. Eskom must come back to the negotiating table with a genuine offer which speaks to the demands made by workers.

The talks will continue until the 25th of May.

Issued by Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, NUMSA National Spokesperson, 24 May 2023