Share

Matla Eskom workers end strike

Johannesburg - Workers at Eskom's Matla power station in Mpumalanga returned to work on Tuesday after a one-day strike, Eskom said.

"The power station carried on producing power and is at normal capacity today [Tuesday]," spokesperson Hilary Joffe said.

Workers downed tools on Monday when wage talks stalled and were referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration.

Eskom was monitoring the situation at Matla. The power station was quiet on Tuesday.

Business Day reported that 700 people were employed at the power plant, which had an output of 3600MW.

Joffe said the wage talks deadlocked because the three unions involved in the negotiations - the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), and Solidarity - had not budged from their initial demands since May.

Eskom was offering a 5.6% increase, which fell short of the unions' demands. Solidarity wanted a 12% wage hike and Numsa 20%.

The NUM demanded increases ranging from R3000 to R3500, depending on workers' job grades, extended to all employees covered in the bargaining unit. NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka declined to express the union's wage demand as a percentage, saying that workers at different levels had different needs.

In March, Congress of SA Trade Unions' general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said at a conference on collective bargaining that the union federation wanted to move away from percentage-based pay increases to close apartheid-era wage gaps.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.19
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.90
-0.3%
Rand - Euro
20.45
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.32
-0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
-0.3%
Platinum
949.60
-0.1%
Palladium
1,024.00
-0.5%
Gold
2,382.54
+0.1%
Silver
28.30
+0.2%
Brent Crude
87.11
-0.2%
Top 40
66,692
-0.7%
All Share
72,743
-0.7%
Resource 10
62,836
-0.7%
Industrial 25
97,537
-0.9%
Financial 15
15,413
-0.4%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders