Johannesburg - The unresolved wage dispute between the national power supplier, Eskom, and the three unions representing its workers has been referred for arbitration, trade union Solidarity said on Thursday night.
Solidarity deputy general secretary Dirk Hermann said Eskom refused to negotiate further after they made a final offer on Thursday night, and requested the matter be referred for arbitration by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
"It means the CCMA will have to make a decision that is binding on all the parties," said Hermann.
Minister of Public Enterprises Barbara Hogan called on all parties to abide by the law and to follow the steps prescribed.
"I have requested the CCMA to appoint an arbitrator urgently and for the arbitration to be held as soon as is possible," she said in a statement on Thursday night.
Eskom was involved in bitter wage negotiations with the unions, Solidarity, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union of Mineworkers of SA (Numsa) on Thursday night, after the CCMA issued a certificate of non-resolution on the matter on Thursday afternoon.
The company's final offer on Thursday night included an increase of eight percent across the board.
It also included an offer of either a housing subsidy of R500 for all workers, whether they have a subsidy or not, or R800 for workers who did not have a housing benefit.
"The other unions (NUM and Numsa) said they wanted to negotiate further and Eskom said they refused to negotiate further and asked the matter to be referred for arbitration," said Hermann.
"Any one of the parties can ask for a dispute to be referred for arbitration, especially in a case like this where essential services, who are not allowed to strike, are involved," said Hermann.
He said according to the labour law the CCMA had to go through a new conciliation process, after which it either had to make an arbitration judgment or go into arbitration.
"It can take anything from three days to three months, but because of the urgency of the matter, it may be held in a couple of days," he said.
Solidarity felt the addition of a housing subsidy to the offer was a "victory".
"It is something we feel we can go and sell to the workers," said Solidarity chief negotiator Bennie Blignaut.
The trade unions were demanding a wage increase of nine percent across the board and a R4 000 housing allowance.
Hermann said the unions would meet at the NUM offices in Johannesburg on Monday to decide on a way forward. He said, however, Solidarity would present Eskom's offer to its members.
"We decided we are not going to make a recommendation to them, but to let them decide themselves [whether to accept it]."
The union would nevertheless have to go through the arbitration process, he said.
Hogan said she had consulted with experts and would appoint a panel to investigate Eskom's housing policy.
"I will ensure that a housing policy is reviewed and if it is inadequate, to make it better," she said.
She said while from time to time there would be problems in state-owned enterprises, like Eskom, it was not the right time for unions to strike.
"Now is not the time to sow division and discontent in the nation. Now is not the time for there to be disputes and for the dispute to be fought out on the streets," she said.
Representatives of NUM and Numsa were not immediately available for comment.
- Sapa