Solidarity to hold Eskom accountable for 15 000 job losses

By Celeste Ganga
01 February 2008

Trade union Solidarity says that it will be holding Eskom responsible for the planned job losses at two mining companies, namely Harmony Gold and Goldfields. The retrenchments follows after the utility informed mining companies that the electricity supply to the industry can no longer be increased to 90%, but has to remain on the 80% level.

It was revealed that the two companies are planning to jointly retrenching 15 000 workers. Solidarity has appointed a top legal and research team to dispute the retrenchments.

“We cannot allow workers to subsidise poor electricity planning. The mining industry is supposed to make huge profits at this time as the current gold price is on a record level of R226 000 per kg, but because of the electricity crisis mine cannot produce profitably,” says Solidarity’s Deputy General Secretary, Dirk Herman.

Goldfields and Harmony have both denied that they are retrenching people due to the current energy crisis.

According to Goldfields Corporate Communication and Corporate Affairs Manager Reidewaan Wookay, the statements made that they retrenched 10 000 people because of the electricity problem, are not true.

Harmony’s Investor Relations General Manager Amelia Soares, says that before the electricity crisis they already started reducing their staff.