Cosatu has come out guns blazing, blaming the government for its laid back approach in implementing the Eskom social compact plan.
The Eskom social compact is the brainchild of the trade union federation that was adopted in December 2020 at the 25th annual summit of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).
Its aim was to assist the debt-laden state power utility to become a financially viable and profitable state-owned entity.
Eskom has about R392-billion in debt, which it incurred over the past 10 years.
In an interview with Sunday World, Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said Eskom and the government had not given the plan the urgency it deserves.
“We are disappointed that there is absolutely no movement.
“The idea was to save the entity.
“For a long time, the government said labour doesn’t want to cooperate.
“Our [motivation for] coming on board was twofold: first was to save jobs and the second was to ensure that Eskom is not privatised,” explained Pamla.
He said that the federation was concerned about talk gaining momentum that the troubled electricity provider should be dismantled.
“The Public Investment Corporation has already invested about R90-billion in Eskom.
“There is also about R9.3-trillion held in pension funds.
“Cosatu proposed that the pension funds be converted into equity on behalf of the workers in the public and private sectors,” said Pamla.
A task team was expected to be assembled to provide the finer details on the special purpose finance vehicle.
The PIC, Industrial Development Corporation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa were identified as key enablers of the plan.
Other non-negotiables for Cosatu were that Eskom should reduce its bloated management and lucrative perks, that the power utility is compelled to enter the renewable energy generation space and ensure the security of jobs.
The federation also advanced by putting in place clear and just transition processes to ensure that coal-powered stations and mines reaching the end of their lifespans were converted to other energy generation technologies and repurposed some.
Eskom employs about 44 000 workers nationwide.
The framework agreement struck at Nedlac included the short-term intervention of managing load-shedding that is hampering economic growth by procuring additional energy generation.
This was to be implemented within three months.
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