Sadtu hits out at DA in pension funds aid issue
THE SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) has slammed the DA over its threats to wage a legal battle against Cosatu’s proposal for Eskom to be financially assisted with pension funds of public servants.
This comes after the federation advocated that some of the private pensions of government workers held by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) be used to relieve the embattled power utility of some of its R450 billion debt.
While Cosatu is the country’s biggest trade union federation, with most of its unions in the public sector, other federations have not warmed to the proposal.
Fedusa indicated last month that while it supported efforts to save Eskom, it rejected doing so with the funds of public servants.
Fedusa’s unions in the public sector include the Public Servants Association (PSA), which is the second biggest public sector union after Cosatu’s Nehawu.
Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said yesterday that the federation had not yet resolved on whether to back the proposal or not.
Cosatu’s proposal is set to cut Eskom’s debt by about R250bn, more than half, if it goes ahead.
The DA threatened last week to wage a legal battle against the proposal should it go ahead.
The official opposition called on (President Cyril) Ramaphosa to reject the proposal as it would result in workers losing their life savings to a “sinking ship”.
Sadtu has, however, slammed the DA, accusing it of pretending to represent workers.
Sadtu general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said the DA’s legal threat against the proposal was aimed at handing Eskom over to private hands and for DA electioneering.
“The DA had always wanted Eskom to be privatised so that its founders, which is the capitalist elite, can make a profit out of a basic service such as electricity. The video by the DA is about electioneering and opportunistic. Workers must remain vigilant because disaster capitalism thrives on a crisis.
“To the DA, the Eskom crisis is an opportunity to move with speed to sell government assets, clearly using the frustrations of the people,” he said.
Maluleke said workers would, however, have to be consulted before it could go ahead. “Like all proposals, it must be debated and workers be consulted so that the best solution can be found that will benefit everyone,” Maluleke said.
The union’s national executive committee met at the weekend and Maluleke said it was supportive of efforts to save Eskom from collapse as this could result in its privatisation, retrenchments and a hike in electricity prices and hit workers and poor communities.
He said the union’s top brass had rejected plans announced by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni to cut the public service wage bill. “The NEC acknowledged the state of the economy and the fact that the country was in a technical recession; however, it condemned the reduced allocation for social spending and government’s plan to cut the public service wage bill.”