Numsa urges Nedlac strike

THE NATIONAL Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, (Numsa) yesterday said it had informed the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) to strike over Eskom’s decision to close five coal-fired power stations. The Labour Relations Act requires trade unions to inform Nedlac of their intention to embark on protest action at least 14 days prior to the commencement of the protest action. “As Numsa we will not sit back idly and watch while Eskom and the ANC government arbitrarily take decisions to destroy thousands of jobs by closing coal-fired power stations because they claim there is an oversupply of electricity,” said Numsa. Eskom had announced that it intended to close the power stations to, among others, create “pace” for renewable energy capacity. – Siseko Njobeni