The four unions are the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), Metal and Electrical Workers Union of South Africa, Solidarity, and the South African Equity Workers Association. The umbrella employer organisation is Steel and Engineering Federation of South Africa.
Numsa’s spokesperson Castro Ngobese said, “The parties will also share notes on their approaches to next week’s National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s public hearings on Eskom’s application scheduled for 23 and 24 June.”
Ngobese said the metals and engineering industry, which employs about 400 000 people, contributes close to 30 percent of the country’s manufacturing output, and about 6 percent of South Africa’s gross domestic product.
Ngobese added, “The sub-sectors that make up the industry are energy intensive, and electricity is a huge share of the sector’s input costs. Since the start of the spiral of increasing electricity prices, the industry has been hit hard, and many firms are reeling from what are clearly unaffordable tariffs.”
