Nelson Mandela Bay skipped load-shedding on Tuesday and Wednesday when workers went on a go-slow due to a labour dispute concerning a scarce skills allowance in metro’s energy and electricity department.
While SA Municipal Workers Union regional secretary Melikhaya Kortjan was not aware of the go-slow, he said the allowance was due to be terminated in October.
“I am on the way to the electricity department, where I will learn about what’s going on,” he said.
Energy and electricity political head Lance Grootboom said Eskom had been informed.
“I instructed by the executive director to inform Eskom about the impasse because it will have a huge effect on the economy and what the power utility is trying to achieve by implementing load-shedding,” he said.
“Eskom is fully aware of the situation. This also could bring us huge problems because if Eskom decides to switch us off, it won’t be in stages like we do it in the municipality, they will switch off the whole city at once.”
Grootboom said city manager Noxolo Nqwazi had sent a letter to mayor Retief Odendaal and him to inform them that negotiations with the unions about the scarce skills allowance had been started again.
“There have been issues raised by staff in the department about the scarce skills allowance and they decided not to work.”
In the letter, Nqwazi said the stopping of the scarce skills allowance should be held in abeyance for three months.
Grootboom said they were working with other departments to resolve the matter and urged staff to go back to work.
“We are still looking into the matter,” he said. “We are only four days into this government.
“It’s only the staff at the electricity department who are on an illegal go-slow and we will continue to engage them through their unions about their issues.”
HeraldLIVE