Eskom may suffer as coal strikes loom
Unions accuse the Chamber of Mines of negotiating in bad faith over structure of wage talks set for June
The prospects of a strike affecting coal mines supplying state-run power utility Eskom are good as three unions and the Chamber of Mines fell out this week over the structure of forthcoming wage talks. Wage talks were due to start in June but the chamber, representing seven coal companies of vastly disparate sizes and three unions fell out over a mandate from the companies to negotiate directly with unions rather than use the centralised bargaining process this year. Eskom is understood to be in informal contact with the chamber to keep tabs on the likelihood of a strike and prepare its coal stockpiles accordingly. A protracted strike in the coal sector could have negative consequences for Eskom. There was a 10-day strike in the 2015 round of two-year wage talks. Companies felt the differing sizes, financial and operational capacities of the seven companies, which include three small firms with several hundred employees, meant the big companies were sometimes dragged into strikes th...
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