Now job shedding too? Eskom says it will cut jobs to curb losses
- Pravin Gordhan said there will be retrenchments at the power utility
- This comes after several trade unions expressed opposition to any job losses at Eskom
- Gordhan says the job cuts will be aimed at reducing Eskom's costs
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Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says that there will be job cuts at Eskom.
This comes after several reports that the power utility was overstaffed, especially in high level positions.
Cyril Ramaphosa had previously promised there would be no retrenchments, however.
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The proposed job losses are part of Gordhan's plan to cut costs at Eskom, which is currently facing R420 in debt. Even with the R69 billion Tito Mboweni allocated to the uility over the next three years, Eskom's situation is dire.
Speaking in Parliament, Gordhan said that Eskom's expenditure on salaries was continuing to go up, despite the power provider's debt problems.
In particular, he said there were too many employees in management positions, according to Business Live.
His announcement is certain to go down poorly with trade unions like NUMSA and Cosatu, which have opposed job cuts at Eskom. They have also voiced resistance to other proposals to reform the power utility, including Ramaphosa's plan to unbundle it into three entities.
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Similarly, some figures within the ANC have also slammed government's plans to restructure Eskom, saying that Ramaphosa was being influenced by international institutions like the World Bank.
The World Bank was one of the organisations that released reports claiming that Eskom, which employs 35 000 people, is overstaffed.
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Source: Briefly News
