Numsa digs in as Eskom wage pact splits unions

Two of South Africa’s major labour unions have accepted state power utility Eskom’s 7% wage increase offer, while a third has rejected it and declared a deadlock, demanding a higher raise, union representatives said on Thursday.

Eskom began pay talks last year with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and Solidarity, with several rounds of negotiations continuing until this month.

The utility’s final offer was a 7% pay increase in each of the three years under negotiation, effective from July 2026.

NUM energy sector coordinator Khangela Baloyi and Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis said their members had accepted the offer.

“Our members gave us a mandate to accept Eskom’s final offer. We will sign the agreement tomorrow,” said du Plessis.

Numsa members are demanding a bigger increase.

“Our members demand 8% in the first year,” said Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim. “We have declared a deadlock, we can end up in arbitration and accompanied by demonstrations.”

Binding

However, in a media statement on Friday, Eskom said the agreement is binding on all employees in the central bargaining forum, including those affiliated to Numsa, given that NUM and Solidarity together represent more than 75% of employees in the bargaining unit.

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane said the deal provides “the stability and predictability required to focus fully on delivering our business objectives”, while chief people officer Candice Hartley said it reinforced the utility’s disciplined approach to cost management. The agreement is being concluded alongside Eskom’s cost optimisation and revenue enhancement programme, which is targeting R112-billion in cost savings over five years.

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The utility acknowledged that Numsa had declared a deadlock and opted not to sign, but said it remained committed to ongoing engagement with all three recognised unions on other matters.

Eskom has weighed on the economy for years due to power cuts and financial troubles, but improved performance at its coal-fired power stations has halted outages and the utility has projected a sustained improvement in its finances in coming years.  — Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Nilutpal Timsina, (c) 2026 Reuters, with additional reporting (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media