Workers who vandalised Eskom property in acts of sabotage meant to affect the power grid during a wage strike will have to face disciplinary action‚ the utility confirmed on Friday.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) signed a three-year wage deal this week after prolonged negotiations.
A sticking point was the issue of disciplinary action‚ which could possibly lead to the dismissal of workers proven to have been involved in criminal acts.
This has led Eskom to lodge a dispute at the Commission for Conciliation‚ Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA)‚ to start an arbitration process on the matter.
On Friday‚ Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe confirmed that the utility had not compromised on this issue.
“NUM and Numsa withdrew their demand for the disciplinary action to be dropped as a pre-condition for them signing the wage agreement‚” he said on his Twitter account.
“Disciplinary action will continue in line with the standard procedures.
“Each case will be dealt with on its merits‚ as has been the case all along.”
The illegal strike action in June and July resulted in Eskom being forced to implement load shedding.
The wage deal will see workers get 7.5% increases for 2018 and 7% for 2019 and 2020.
— TimesLIVE
