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One of the country’s largest strike actions is about to take place, according to the National Union of Metal Workers South Africa.
Numsa is calling for a national shutdown after Eskom announced last week that five of its power stations, all based in Mpumalanga, would be shut down over a 10-year period.
These power stations are Hendrina, Kriel, Komati, Grootvlei and Camden.
Should the power stations be closed down, at least 30 000 people stand to lose their jobs, which Numsa refuses to allow.
In an exceptional move, Numsa and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) have begun talks to join forces in its fight against the energy provider.
“Numsa has approached the leadership of NUM on how we can combine forces against our common enemy, the exploitative and parasitic structures of white monopoly capital,” Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said this morning.
Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi told City Press that at this point the union was focusing on mobilising its members and the general public, ahead of the mass protest action and that a date hasn’t been decided on yet.
“We have reached out to the National Union of Mineworkers in order to put our ideological differences aside, as this is a fight for the people and we want everyone to engage with us,” Hlubi said.
The fight, according to Numsa, is not just against Eskom but against the country’s ruling party, the ANC, which they say has an “agenda to destroy jobs”.
“As Numsa we cannot simply sit back and allow Eskom, and this government to destroy the livelihoods of thousands of workers and their families. In an environment where there are high levels of poverty and escalating unemployment, we believe that every job counts,” Jim said.
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