The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes the progressive agreement to halt retrenchments between Eskom and ferrochrome producers, Samancor Chrome and Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture. The agreement responds to the dire impact of the increasingly unaffordable price of electricity upon these heavy intensive users by providing lower tariffs over the next three months.
The companies’ Section 189 retrenchments will simultaneously be suspended for this period. This will provide welcome relief to thousands of workers at these companies whilst further engagements take place over the next three months for long-term solutions to the electricity tariff challenges threatening the sustainability of these companies and their employees’ jobs.
COSATU applauds the efforts by the parties to find solutions and provide space for further engagements on a sustainable long-term solution for a long festering crisis that has seen many smelters close, workers retrenched and communities plunged into economic depression.
Key to finding a sustainable long-term solution is to provide Eskom with the necessary support to plug its many financial holes, from corruption to wasteful expenditure, from cable theft to infrastructure vandalism, and most critically to ensuring that all Eskom and municipal electricity consumers are moved to pre-paid meters. This needs to include a comprehensive package of interventions to arrest the crisis of municipal debt owed to Eskom currently nearing R100 billion and increasing at an alarming rate of R20 billion per annum.
Eskom cannot be sustained or end its dependence upon unaffordable above inflation tariff hikes, unless all consumers pay for electricity consumed. Increased daily revenue will enable Eskom and municipalities to increase the allocation of free electricity to indigent households whilst continuing to ramp up maintenance programmes and investments in new generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Whilst welcoming this job saving agreement it is sacrosanct that all parties honour their agreed obligations, in particular the companies’ commitment to suspend retrenchments proceedings. We cannot afford to see a single worker added to the already dangerously high unemployment rate of 42.4%.
We expect all parties to offer solutions and make compromises to ensure that the jobs of these workers are saved and the sustainability of this strategic industry as well as Eskom are ensured.
Key to unlocking the economy and achieving the 3% growth rate necessary to slashing unemployment, is an affordable electricity tariff regime. Working- and middle-class families too need to see the price of electricity become affordable once again. Lower prices will help workers take care of their families’ needs and see more money spent stimulating economic growth.
This is a matter that requires an urgent solution and prioritisation by the most senior leadership of government and industry.
Issued by COSATU