National Union of Mineworkers agrees to rethink shutdown at Eskom
Union might call off strike action in May after talks with president and top ministers yield 'quality results'
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will meet with its members next week to consider whether a shutdown at the embattled power utility, Eskom, will take place during the week of the May elections. The union's shutdown threat came after President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement in February that Eskom would be split into three state-owned entities: generation, transmission and distribution. The current power crisis could have serious implications for Ramaphosa’s promise of growing the economy. It could also be a public relations nightmare for the ruling party, coming one month ahead of the elections. NUM met Ramaphosa, public enterprise minister Pravin Gordhan and energy minister Jeff Radebe on Monday. NUM general secretary David Sipunzi said the meeting had “quality results” which needed to be considered. He said the union would consult its members in the next seven days on the outcome of the meeting and whether the shutdown should go ahead. The union was happy with the outcomes o...
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