Eskom’s decision to lodge a dispute at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has cornered trade unions after months of wage negotiations that have not yielded results. The application will enable the CCMA to make a determination in the form of an award, after arbitration processes are concluded, in favour or against the state power utility. The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and the National Union of Mineworkers (Num) have refused to sign a wage agreement the unions accepted in principle after Eskom said it would charge workers for embarking on an illegal strike. Eskom and the unions have been in negotiations over wages for close to three months since the power utility opened talks by proposing a 0% wage hike for employees. This led to the labour unrest that plunged the country into near darkness. After public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan forced the utility to improve its offer, Eskom managed to gain control at the talks. The law requ...
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