The National Union of Mineworkers (Num) has warned government that it may face a total shutdown of the electrical grid nationwide if it does not accept the demands contained in the union’s memorandum.
Num and several other unions staged a march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where they handed a memorandum to a government official.
They demanded that Independent Power Producers (IPPs) should not be incorporated into Eskom’s power supply programme. Num says agreements between Eskom and IPPs should be cancelled and that the incorporation of IPPs is a way of privatising Eskom at the cost of thousands of jobs.
The IPPs should rather be allowed to compete with the power utility, Num president Joseph Montisetsi suggested. He said that the incorporation of Power Purchasing Agreements are a way of privatising Eskom at the cost of thousands of jobs.
“We are not here to beg, if they are not going to respond to this memorandum. We want the president. That is why we came to the Union Buildings, we want the president to take away IPPs from Eskom. IPPs must stand alone and leave Eskom alone. Why do you take the private sector to take money from the government and destroy an entity of government and the people are going to suffer. We want them to separate that and we want to engage with the president. If he doesn’t agree to our demand, next year we are going to cause a shutdown of electricity all over the country,” says Montisetsi.
-SABC News
