Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has warned that loadshedding could be escalated to stage six starting at 5pm on Tuesday, saying the ongoing unprotected strike at some of the utility’s power stations is posing a serious challenge.
“We need to resolve this [labour matter]. We urge workers to follow the rule of law and return to work,” said De Ruyter.
“[It is] regrettable that the interests of the whole country are at risk to extract more benefits [by the striking workers] from Eskom.”
De Ruyter added that the power utility is also considering laying criminal charges in confirmed cases of arson or violence by the striking workers.
Eskom was on Friday granted a court interdict to stop the wage strike at nine of its power stations. At the time, the power utility blamed the ongoing unprotected labour action by its employees for its decision to escalate power blackouts to stage four until Sunday morning.
On Sunday, it announced that stage four would continue until Wednesday in a bid to conceive emergency generation reserves.
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