Eskom Raises Wage Offer To 5.5% As Unions Seek Up To 15% In New Pay Talks
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South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom has increased its salary offer to unions to 5.5%, up from the 3.5% it proposed last year, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The revised offer was tabled this week during a second round of wage negotiations with the three main unions Eskom bargains with, and Eskom proposed the increase take effect on July 1, immediately after the current three-year wage agreement expires.
The proposal also includes changes to other benefits, including housing, and an Eskom spokesperson confirmed the latest salary offer was 5.5%.
Unions are seeking pay increases of up to 15%, well above South Africa’s annual inflation rate of 3.6% in December, which the central bank believes may have peaked.
A third round of negotiations is scheduled for February, according to Khangela Baloyi, energy sector coordinator for the National Union of Mineworkers.
Eskom’s 2023 three-year wage agreement provided non-managerial employees with 7% increases each year, and the utility has said it wants to secure another multi-year deal, with the strike risk seen differently this time because improved generation performance has left it with excess capacity.
