Eskom said the power system would take up to approximately 10 days to recover from the effects of the recent industrial action once all staff eventually return to work on 18 June.
Camden Power Station employees sing revolutionary songs as they joined in the national call by unions to down tools over the wage dispute with Eskom on Wednesday, 13 June.
Workers from the Eskom Camden Power Station joined the national call and downed tools to protest over the zero percent wage increase on Wednesday, 13 June.
The workers’ unions the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), the National Union of Mineworkers (Num) and Solidarity led the workers who sang revolutionary songs at the entrance of the power station.
According to union leaders, the industrial action will continue until their demand for a 15 percent wage increase is met.
However, the cash-strapped utility giant said it cannot afford any increases – a statement that does not sit well with the unions.
“What frustrates us is that they are not giving proper feedback on what their balance sheets indicate and why they are saying they cannot afford the increase,” said Mr Adriaan Labuschagne from Solidarity.
The situation became tense in the latter part of the day on 13 June when employees not participating in the protest action had to use alternative routes to exit the power station in fear of the protesting workers.
The industrial action has led to the constraint of power supply from Eskom.
It began controlled power blackouts on Thursday because workers protesting hurt its ability to deliver electricity.
Camden Power Station employees sing revolutionary songs as they joined in the nationwide strike.
It implemented stage 1 load shedding on Thursday night and not during the afternoon as Ermelo residents feared after a power outage rendered the town powerless.
According to the municipal spokesman, Mr Mandla Zwane, the outage was due to a cable fault.
“Electricians managed to allocate the cable fault and were working diligently to restore power,” Mr Zwane said at the time.
However, Mr Zwane confirmed that Ermelo’s outlying areas will be affected by the load shedding.
He released Ermelo’s scheduled load shedding times that can be found on the Highvelder’s website, www.highvelder.co.za.
Wage negotiations were re-opened on 14 June with Eskom’s chief executive officer, Mr Phakamani Hadebe, committing to talking with trade unions.
Workers have been demanding a 15 percent wage hike and the matter has now been referred to the CCMA.
On Friday, 15 June the Labour Court issued an order declaring strikes by the unions unprotected and unlawful.
Eskom stopped load shedding on Saturday and Sunday, however it advised that rotational load shedding would be conducted in either stage 1, stage 2, stage 3 or stage 4, depending on the capacity shortage.
Camden Power Station employees sing revolutionary songs as they joined in the national call by unions to down tools over the wage dispute with Eskom on Wednesday, 13 June.
The power utility said the power system would take up to approximately 10 days to recover from the effects of the recent industrial action once all staff eventually return to work on 18 June.
That means load shedding could last for the next 10 days with consumers urged to use electricity sparingly.
Consumers will be most likely be affected between 5pm and 9pm.
At the time of going to press, talks between the unions and Eskom were set to resume on 19 June, following an intervention by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.
