Striking Eskom workers are pleading poverty, saying the rising cost of living is too high and they are barely surviving on their salaries.
On Monday, dozens of the power utility’s employees at the Duvha power station in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, protested outside the facility, demanding better pay.
The workers are demanding a minimum and maximum 8% and 12% wage increase. They have been on strike since last Wednesday.
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On Sunday, Eskom announced that stage 4 loadshedding, which had only been scheduled for the weekend, would continue until Wednesday, citing the illegal strike as one of the contributing factors.
“Unlawful industrial action at various Eskom power stations has impacted planned maintenance and repairs, and at some stations the full complement of workers have not reported for duty.”
On Friday, Eskom obtained a court order from the Labour Court prohibiting the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), National Union of Metalworkers SA (Numsa) and its employees from striking.
One of the workers, who spoke to Sowetan on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said the salary she takes home after deductions is not enough to live on.
She is employed as a senior technological official.
She said for the past month she had not been able to afford electricity and had to use a paraffin stove for cooking.
“The money I earn is not enough for me to take care of my family. I have to buy food, electricity, pay for municipal services and send money to my parents and siblings who live in Mayflower [Mpumalanga].
“I usually spend R1,000 on electricity, so I decided to prioritise other expenses and stop buying electricity.
“I have been using a paraffin stove to cook and boil water. I buy 20l paraffin, which costs me R220. I cook porridge, eggs and a tin of beef,” she said.
Another employee said he has had to cut down on some food items due to rising costs.
He said his gross salary was R16,000.
“I used to buy a lot of steak. I cannot buy my steak anymore. I rely on cabbage, tomatoes and potatoes to eat with porridge and rice. Another problem I have is that I am struggling to pay rent.
“I have not paid my R5,500 rent for this month. I told my landlord about my situation and he gave me until end of the month to pay. I do not know how I am going to get that money,” he said.
A NUM shop steward, who was present at the protest, said, ‘’The workers here work hard. They just want to sustain their families.
“How does Eskom expect workers to perform at work when they are frustrated by their financial challenges,” he said.
Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said the union is demanding a 12% salary increase for the workers.
“Eskom collapsed wage talks. When we met the Eskom leadership on June 21 and 22, we made our opening remarks and they declared a dispute, walked out of the venue when we asked them why are they taking money meant for workers and using it to pay diesel suppliers and owners of coal contracts? They refused to answer the question and staged a walkout,” said Hlubi-Majola.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said the state-owned entity does not have the resources to meet the unions’ demands.
“Eskom has made a final decision to increase the salaries by 4%, 4.5% and 5.3%. This staggered wage increase, if implemented, is designed to narrow the wage gap amongst the various categories.
“This is what Eskom can afford under the circumstances – a company that relies on government assistance to meet its obligations through cash bailouts since at least 2015,” said Mantshantsha.
He said the unions rejected Eskom’s wage increase offer.
“Eskom did not walk out. Eskom declared a deadlock once it became clear the unions were rejecting its final offer,” said Mantshantsha.
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