|
Essential services 'safe'
20/07/2001 19:25 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Three South African unions said on Friday they would respect an agreement with state-owned electricity supplier Eskom to provide essential services if these were seen to be affected by a planned joint strike.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), National Union of
Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and MWU Solidarity served Eskom on July 20 with a notice to strike on July 24 after failed wage talks.
"To the extent that such areas identified as essential services may be directly affected by the strike... we will try our best that this happens to a minimum," Numsa general-secretary Silumko Nondwangu told Reuters.
Nondwangu said the unions would acknowledge the agreement with Eskom but would investigate first to determine whether they believed essential services were affected.
The unions are demanding an 11% wage increase for
the lowest paid workers and 9% for highest paid employees.
Eskom is offering the unions nine and seven percent,
respectively.
Eskom CEO Thulani Gcabashe said in a statement the
parastatal's offer was market-related, fair and equitable. He also promised that essential services would be delivered even if the strike is protracted.
"Employees in sectors such as generation, transmission and
distribution should ensure that electricity flows normally, as the absence of power will endanger life, personal safety health and the economy," he said.
The unions represent around 21 000 of Eskom's 31 000
employees and a strike has raised fears of power shortages.
- Reuters
|
South Africa
