Month: July 2022

Eskom CEO, Andre de Ruyter, says the power utility will be taking action against workers who embarked on an illegal strike over the past week.

The strike hit the power utility hard, with up to 90% of workers absent from duty – plunging the country into stage six load shedding as a mitigating measure to avoid a system collapse.

De Ruyter said workers at Eskom are not permitted to engage in a strike, as it is considered an essential service.

“We will be taking disciplinary action against workers that have been away unlawfully. That may include the application of the ‘no work, no pay’ principle. Where there are acts of intimidation and violence, the Eskom disciplinary code will apply and we will be processing the various investigations accordingly. Where there are criminal acts, these will be reported to the South African Police Service for them to investigate.

“Eskom is an essential service. Therefore, workers may not go on strike. In addition to the fact that they are essential workers and may not go on strike, we obtained an interdict [against the strike], therefore there is a double breach of the law here. This is an unacceptable situation where the country is held hostage by [these] actions,” he said.

On Wednesday, the power utility said it was expecting workers back at their stations after Eskom agreed to re-engage in wage talks with unions.

According to De Ruyter, this did not materialise with stay-away action continuing.

“The most important point of constrain at this time is the successful return to work of the two unions…. in order to allow us to lift load shedding. There’s about three stages of load shedding attributable to the unlawful industrial action, so that is the major factor putting us in the position that we are in right now,” De Ruyter said.

With added pressure on the grid, Eskom’s diesel reserves and dam water reserves are beginning to run low.

“This is something we are addressing. We are sourcing additional diesel supply from whatever source we can. We have not replenished our dams as much as we would have liked to and therefore we unfortunately have to return to stage six load shedding from 4pm this afternoon in order to safely navigate through our peak period,” De Ruyter said.

Returning to service

De Ruyter said despite these challenges, at least 1 500MW of power is expected back on the grid over the next few weeks.

At least 600MW from Mozambique’s Cahora Bassa hydroelectric power station is expected back by the end of the weekend, following a collapse of one of its pylons.

“The Mozambican company has managed to access the site, which is located in a very remote area. They are busy effecting repairs and it should be restored towards the end of Sunday. So by Sunday, we should see… 600MW from Mozambique returning to the grid [and] that will of course play an important role.

“Koeberg [Nuclear Power Station] unit two will have its refuelling completed on 15th of July. That is on schedule and it will add another 920MW to the grid once the unit returns. Of course, it takes a number of days to ramp up to full capacity,” he said.

Stage six load shedding is expected to commence from 6pm this evening, while stage four load shedding is expected to be implemented throughout the weekend.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Press statement on the withdrawal of the application launched in the Gauteng division, Pretoria, in connection with the Zimbabwe exemption permit

1. The Department of Home Affairs welcomes the withdrawal of the application filed in court by African Amity NPC and Zimbabwe Permit Holders Association under case no. 51735/21 on 14 June 2022.

2. The matter involved the challenge in court of the decision of the Minister of Home Affairs not to extend the exemptions granted to Zimbabwean nationals.

3. The Department is happy that at long last sense seems to have prevailed. As indicated before, the Department’s doors are always open for constructive engagement with the affected Zimbabwean nationals.

Source: Government of South Africa

Department of Employment and Labour closes Free State Provincial South African Police Service station for non-compliance with Occupational Health and Safety Regulations

Department of Employment and Labour’s Inspection and Enforcement Services has prohibited the use of the South African Police Service station in Odendaalsrus due to non-compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The closure of the facility emanates from a reactive inspection (complaint triggered inspection) conducted by the Occupational Health and Safety inspectors following reports of occupational hazards in the building. It was also discovered that the station was being utilised by officials whilst still under construction, this includes an incident of an employee sustaining an injury from a ceiling that fell.

The facility was prohibited on 28 June 2022, in terms of Section 30 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This section of the legislation empowers the labour inspector to issue a Prohibition Notice, declaring the building unsafe for use and occupation.

Provincial Chief Inspector Manelisi Luxande said “the Department continues to have zero tolerance for non-compliance of occupational health and safety regulations by employers”. The priority of the inspectorate is to safeguard the health and safety of employees and members of the community that visit the building, he added.

The facility will remain closed until all safety issues have been corrected to the satisfaction of the labour inspector.

Source: Government of South Africa