Johannesburg - Sectors of civil society, including the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), Solidarity and representatives from seven municipalities, convened in Johannesburg on Tuesday to find solutions to the country’s energy crisis.
“Our government has plunged the country into crisis and is incapable of solving that crisis,” Numsa deputy general secretary, Karl Cloete said.
“The ANC government has talked endlessly about the growth of the South African economy, but it has failed to make provision for the energy to allow it to happen.”
He said South Africa lost its competitive advantage in electricity the day Eskom “handed over its coal mines to Exxaro, which are being mined for Eskom at cost plus three percent”.
“(In) 2016 power prices are already expected to be higher than power prices in China. South Africa has moved from having one of the cheapest costs of power in the world to one of the most expensive,” he said.
“Many energy intensive industries are already struggling due to higher power prices. The impact of these higher costs has effectively resulted in beneficiation moving from South Africa to countries with cheaper power such as China and Malaysia”
“The effect of this is that we are exporting jobs to countries such as Malaysia and China.”
But, he countered, in 2002 South Africa was smelting more than 80 percent of the world’s ferrochrome and China was smelting less than 5 percent, while today China smelts 45 percent while SA smelts less than 38 percent.
“This is a clear indication that beneficiation is moving from SA to China.”
Cloete said load-shedding was an on the working class and the poor.
“We demand that companies pay workers in full, with no deductions for load-shedding,” he said.
“If the companies want to recover their costs, they must demand it from those who are responsible – the state and Eskom. They must not take it from workers who are still victims of the apartheid wage gap.”
The union also rejected the latest tariff increases proposed by Eskom.
“In terms of the tariff increases we must say that it proves to us that Eskom’s strategy has completely lost touch with its supreme mandate – to electrify the country as called for by the RDP,” Cloete said.
Dirk Hermann, chief executive of trade union, Solidarity, said it was significant that his union and Numsa were sharing a platform at the conference, despite their vastly differing ideological outlooks.
“Today the government will get the message that civil society across traditional dividing lines are united. It is a powerful message from Pretoria and Soweto and NUMSA and Solidarity: enough is enough,” Hermann said.
“There is no better word to describe our feelings than the Afrikaans word “gatvol”. When was the last time that such a powerful political message was sent out to South Africa?”
Solidarity wants to propose that instead of the electricity “war room” formed by cabinet, a “peace room” is established.
“We must invite not only worker formations and community organisations, but also employer organisations. After all, the crisis is so great that we must get them on board to do their part as well,” Hermann said.
Labour Bureau