Major strike action threatened over Eskom closures

One of the country’s largest strike actions is about to take place, according to the National Union of Metal Workers of SA (Numsa). City Press reports that the union is calling for a national shutdown after Eskom announced recently that five of its power stations, all based in Mpumalanga, would be shut down over a 10-year period. Should the power stations at Hendrina, Kriel, Komati, Grootvlei and Camden be closed down, at least 30 000 people stand to lose their jobs, which Numsa refuses to allow. The report says 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 is quoted in the report as saying.