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Cape Town - Eskom can expect another huge outflow of skills. Around 75% of white Eskom employees are considering, more of less seriously, leaving the company, and 43% are thinking of leaving straightaway.
These are a few of the findings disclosed by the trade union Solidarity at its annual congress in Kempton Park on Wednesday, in an Eskom workers' docket.
"Eskom cannot afford further skills losses. The electricity provider's planned expansion means that it will probably have to double its work force over the next 15 years. New skills must be created and recruited aggressively," said Solidarity general secretary, Flip Buys, in a statement.
Over 75% of the workers identified the current lack of staff with the right skills as the cause of the electricity supply crisis in South Africa.
In the docket Solidarity commits itself to Eskom's electricity conservation campaign and appeals to the public to support the campaign.
Solidarity will have its first talks with Eskom on Thursday in an effort to address the problem. Solidarity is the second-largest trade union in Eskom and the largest in Koeberg.
"An electricity supply crisis has a negative effect on everyone. The docket contains harsh words about the problem, but also offers proposals for possible solutions," Buys said.
He said Eskom can rely on Solidarity's support in its efforts to find solutions. "We shall be critical, but our criticism will be aimed at accelerating the process and finding solutions," according to the docket.
The second reason given by the workers for the electricity crisis is inadequate capacity expansion.
The workers also complain of pressures of work due to a staff shortage. Poor salaries for artisans came under fire and this is advanced as one of the reasons for the exodus of technical staff from the company.
Government's deficient strategic insight and its inability to reach decisions on expansion were also criticised by the workers.
In the docket, Solidarity says that it will publicly support Eskom's electricity conservation campaign. It will also inform its members and the public about the campaign and urge them to join in.
The trade union also pledged help Eskom identify and re-recruit available skills that had left the company.