Cosatu hits out at Maroga claim

Johannesburg - The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Tuesday that while it agrees that former Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga has the legal right to take his former employer to court for unfairly dismissing him, the amount he is demanding - R85m - is hugely excessive.

The trade federation said anyone who is aggrieved and wants to take their case to court should not be condemned, but his [Maroga] action sends a terrible message to the public - that it is OK for the elite to get millions of rands in packages after resigning or being fired, regardless of how well they have performed.

Cosatu said Eskom under his leadership failed to resolve the deep problems it confronted after the then-government refused to give it the money it needed in the late 1990s for the construction of new power stations.

Maroga had plenty of time to tackle this problem and turn the situation around, but abjectly failed to do so and presided over the disastrous load-shedding power cuts of 2008.

Cosatu further said that even if he can prove the Eskom board forced him to resign, how can he believe he is entitled to such a huge sum. This is reported to include R1m for a "dedicated driver and protector for his family", R500 000 for security at his home and R1m for "personal assistance".

Cosatu said: "This is yet another example of the culture of self-entitlement and greed, which has plagued the business sector and has been invading the public service as well.

"Eskom is still a public utility, with a mandate to provide power to all South Africans as efficiently and cheaply as possible. It is not, and must never become, a business to maximise profits and a way of enriching a small elite of executives."

- I-Net Bridge