Eskom shakes hands to 7% Salary Increase with trade unions

Eskom and its recognised trade unions have signed an agreement to increase workers’ salaries by 7% over 3 years in order to create stability.

MORE ON THE ESKOM AND TRADE UNIONS AGREEMENT

On Thursday, 15 June, Eskom announced the agreement which take effect next month.

“Eskom is pleased to announce that the organisation and its recognised trade unions, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) and Solidarity today reached an agreement at its Central Bargaining Forum process. The parties agreed on a 7% salary increase for all non-managerial employees over a 3-year period, effective from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2026,” the power utility confirmed.
In addition, Eskom says the parties agreed to a 7% increase in the housing allowance over the three-year period, and a once-off taxable payment of R10 000 for the first two years.

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POWER UTILITY INTERIM BOSS SHARES HIS VIEWS

Commenting on the development, Eskom’s Acting Group Chief Executive, Calib Cassim, said: “The collective agreement will go a long way in stabilising our organisation by providing Eskom with sufficient space and time to collaboratively work together to urgently address our most pressing challenges.”

“It is worth noting that this is the first time in more than a decade that the parties have reached an agreement in the room.”

Calib Cassim

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Eskom expressed gratitude to all the parties for their commitment to this process and for placing Eskom and the interests of all South Africans first.

WHAT THIS SALARY INCREASE MEANS TO NUMSA

Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, NUMSA National Spokesperson said NUMSA views this agreement as a victory for workers at Eskom who have been denied meaningful increases since the 2016/2017 financial year.

“This agreement is a sign of an improvement in the relationship with Eskom. We want to continue on this path. And part of our contribution is the signing of a multi-year agreement so that there is labour stability,” she said.

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She added that this will allow workers to focus on quality maintenance, without interrupting that process with annual wage talks.

“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,” Phakamile explained.

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