Labour unions are preparing to demand wage increases of more than four times the current inflation rate when they meet management of state-owned power utility Eskom next Tuesday, for the first round of wage negotiations.
The three recognised unions at Eskom include the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Solidarity.
The first round of talks is scheduled for November 25-27.
Numsa and NUM are demanding a 15% across-the-board wage increase, while Solidarity is demanding 10% or consumer price index plus 4%, whichever is greater. The inflation rate is 3.6%. Solidarity energy sector coordinator Deon Jenkins said the union wanted to negotiate a multiyear wage agreement.
The demands come as Eskom reported a profit after tax of R16bn for 2025, its first profit in eight years. Profit before tax was R24bn. The turnaround was supported by government debt relief, higher electricity tariffs and a significant decrease in load-shedding, which led to lower diesel costs.
Eskom received a R254bn relief package from the Treasury in 2023 in a programme that enjoined local government to pay their dues to Eskom. Municipal arrears rose to R95bn from R75bn, with the state-owned company estimating the debt would grow to more than R300bn by 2030 if no sustainable solution were found.
According to documents Business Day has seen, NUM and Numsa were demanding a R7,000 housing allowance, a cellphone allowance (R1,500 for NUM and R2,000 for Numsa), and an electricity allowance of R1,500 for NUM and R2,000 for Numsa. The employer needed to contribute 80% to medical aid.
When contacted for comment, Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said it would be premature to comment on the company’s proposed offer before it was presented to labour at the bargaining council.
Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said parties had been holding discussions since October regarding a framework for the wage negotiations. That was crucial because, “Eskom wanted us to negotiate according to the three separate units they have now set up. Eskom is being unbundled, there are now three divisions and Eskom management was saying we must now negotiate separately, according to the different divisions. Numsa is vehemently opposed to the breaking up of Eskom”.
Eskom is being unbundled into three distinct entities responsible for generation, transmission and distribution as part of a major restructuring drive intended to improve efficiency in the electricity sector and open the door to greater investment.
“To negotiate with these three entities means that we tacitly agree to the breaking up of Eskom, which we do not,” said Hlubi-Majola.
“Negotiating separately creates the possibility of different outcomes ... depending on where you are working, your conditions and benefits are not going to be the same. It is our view that [Eskom] workers are working for one company and all benefits and conditions should be the same; therefore, we must negotiate in one forum, which is the central bargaining forum.”
Labour was demanding double-digit wage increases because of Eskom’s positive performance, which would not have been possible without “the sweat of labour”.
“The fact that Eskom has got an energy availability factor of over 90%, that we have over 600 days of no load-shedding, all of that has to do with the fact that workers at Eskom gave their labour. It is because of the blood and sweat of workers that South Africans have got energy.”
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