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Trade union Solidarity will approach the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Friday, 26 May, to declare Eskom’s current employment equity plan invalid and to have it revoked. This follows after Eskom unilaterally implemented its employment equity plan, which will be in force until 2020, without consulting the trade union.

According to Anton van der Bijl, head of Solidarity’s Centre for Fair Labour Practices, section 16 of the Employment Equity Act provides that an employer should consult with all employees and trade unions before implementing an employment equity plan. “Although Solidarity tried to contact Eskom on many occasions with regard to the plan, the trade union’s issues and questions have remained unanswered,” Van der Bijl said.

Van der Bijl furthermore explained that Eskom continued to implement the plan despite non-compliance with the law. “The trade union argues that the current employment equity plan is unlawful because Eskom did not consult with Solidarity beforehand as stipulated in the Employment Equity Act, therefore Eskom and Solidarity could not come to an agreement with regard to the numerical targets contained in the employment equity plan,” Van der Bijl said.

“Solidarity requests that the court should urgently revoke this plan since the continued application thereof could affect job opportunities for its members,” Van der Bijl explained.

Issued by Solidarity