Striking Eskom employees at the Lethabo power station in the Free State continued their protest on Wednesday.

Lethabo is one of the six most affected power stations where protests took place this week and where Eskom earlier said some employees were prevented from going to work.

Striking workers who spoke to TimesLIVE said the agreement between their unions and Eskom reached on Tuesday, to return to the negotiating table at the Central Bargaining Forum on Friday, did not represent an agreement on wage increases.

About 50 workers, some clad in Eskom-branded jackets and overalls, braved the cold weather to gather outside the premises, chanting and singing struggle songs while marching up and down.

A woman electrician who spoke to TimesLIVE on condition of anonymity, for fear of being victimised, said their salaries were reduced last year by Eskom taking away their conditions of service benefits such as transport allowances and the double-time arrangements for Sunday, which made them struggle to make ends meet.

“I have two children I'm struggling to take care of. Eskom has the audacity to call us essential workers, but when it comes to paying us we don't get salaries that speak to us being essential workers.”

The electrician, who has been with Eskom for more than 10 years, said as much as she's also affected by load-shedding, which is worsened by their strike, “this is the language that Eskom understands”.

Despite the protest outside, the power station was operational on Wednesday.

Unions said on Tuesday they had made “considerable progress” in negotiations, with the power utility tabling a new offer to which the unions would respond on Friday. They urged their members to return to work in the interim.

Striking workers at Lethabo, however, said they would only return to work once an agreement was signed.

“Without a signed agreement there's no need to end the strike,” another electrician said.

Eskom said on Wednesday afternoon that while some workers had started returning to work, “there is still a high level of absenteeism”. 

TimesLIVE