It is a victory for workers.
This is according to the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) as unions reached an agreement at its Central Bargaining Forum process.
The trade union said it had overcome a dark period where Eskom, under former CEO André De Ruyter, tried to collapse centralised bargaining by imposing a 1.5% increase on the workforce.
“We promised South Africans that we would do everything in our power to prevent a repetition of last year, where workers were provoked into picketing and protesting at power stations, and we have upheld that promise. We managed to secure an agreement without deadlocking, and we did it before the end of June, which is when the old agreement expires,” said the union.
Eskom, in a statement, said it was happy to announce that the organisation and its recognised trade unions, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Numsa, and Solidarity today reached an agreement at its Central Bargaining Forum process.
According to the statement the parties agreed on a 7% salary increase for all non-managerial employees over a three-year period, effective from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2026.
In addition, the parties agreed on a 7% increase in housing allowance over the three-year period, and a once-off taxable payment of R10 000 for the first two years.
Eskom’s acting group chief executive, Calib Cassim, said the collective agreement would go a long way in stabilising the organisation by providing Eskom with sufficient space and time to collaboratively work together to urgently address their most pressing challenges.
“It is worth noting that this is the first time in more than a decade that the parties have reached agreement in the room,” said Cassim.
The entity expressed gratitude to all the parties for their commitment to this process and for placing Eskom and the interests of all South Africans first.