The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is calling on the ferrochrome industry to formally commit to a three-month moratorium on all retrenchments and smelter closures.

This appeal supports a recent government proposal aimed at stabilising the sector while a multi-stakeholder Task Team, which includes government, labour, and industry, urgently addresses the high cost of electricity tariffs.

The ferrochrome industry has voiced serious concerns that the current Eskom tariff of R2.12 per kilowatt-hour is unsustainable, forcing retrenchments. During a meeting last Friday with the Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, the government proposed lowering the tariffs to 87.7 cents. The industry requested a competitive energy tariff of 62 cents per kilowatt-hour.

The government has requested three months to consult with stakeholders and consider the industry’s 62 cents per kilowatt-hour proposal. The Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, still want to meet with the Minister of Finance, Labour, Trade and Industry, and Mineral Resources to discuss the critical importance of the 62 cent KW proposed by the Ferrochrome Industry.

The NUM insists that, in good faith, the ferrochrome industry must provide written commitments to suspend all job cuts for this three-month consultation period.

The NUM will participate in the Multi-Stakeholder Task Team meeting scheduled for tomorrow in Pretoria to help resolve this critical issue and safeguard the livelihoods of its members.