Numsa says that it is disappointed in the Court’s decision to reject its application to stop Eskom from signing contracts with independent power suppliers.
The Acting Spokesperson for the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), Phakamile Hlubi, says that the union believes that the judge did not apply his mind when making the decision.
Speaking to Political Analysis South Africa on Thursday, 29 March 2018, Hlubi explained that “the judge did not apply his mind to the merits of this case. Our case was dismissed on the basis that it did not meet the criteria for urgency.”
The matter was struck off the roll earlier in the day by the North Gauteng High Court.
Numsa argued that the introduction of independent power suppliers to the Eskom value chain would be detrimental to workers as they stand a chance of losing their jobs.
According to Hlubi, Eskom has confirmed “since last year confirmed that the roll out of the IPP’s [Independent Power Producers] would result in the automatic closure of at least five power stations in Mpumalanga.”
Hlubi added that “the state has made absolutely no plans about what is to be done with the workers and their families that would be affected as result of this closure.”
She said that Numsa will go back to study the court documents in order to determine whether they should appeal or not.
“We have to study the judgement. We will have to spend time with our attorneys to see what legal avenues we can explore in this regard.”
