Johannesburg - Labour union Solidarity plans to approach
the Labour Court on Friday to force Eskom to revoke its employment equity plan
because the union claims it was not consulted.
Solidarity said the power utility had implemented
its employment equity plan, which will be enforce until 2020, without following
due processes such as consulting all trade unions before implantation.
It said on Wednesday that such a plan would negatively
affect its members’ job opportunities within the company.
“Eskom did not consult with Solidarity beforehand as
stipulated in the Employment Equity Act, therefore Eskom and Solidarity could
not come to an agreement with regard to the numerical targets contained in the
employment equity plan,” Solidarity’s Anton Van der Bijl said.
This is not the first time that the union has approached
the court with regards to the government’s employment equity plans.
For years, it has continuously taken the Police Ministry
to court over its equity plans, and recently won a Constitutional Court case
against the Department of Correctional Services.
Read also: Eskom board may face chop over #BrianMolefe
The Concourt ruled in June last year, that the Department
of Correctional Services had unfairly discriminated against coloured employees
in the Western Cape on the basis of its employment equity plan.
“Although Solidarity tried to contact Eskom on many
occasions with regard to the plan, the trade union’s issues and questions have
remained unanswered,” Van der Bijl said.
POLITICS AND
LABOUR HUB
@ZintleMahlati