NUM pushes for 15% Eskom wage hike, economists warn of affordability risks

THE National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) have said that Eskom workers are preparing to demand a 15% wage increase, along with higher housing and other allowances, ahead of the upcoming round of salary negotiations with the power utility.

- YOGASHEN PILLAY

NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu confirmed that formal wage talks had not yet begun but said preparations were underway.

“The wage negotiations haven't yet started," Mammburu said on Wednesday.

The wage talks come as Eskom returns to profitability for the first time in eight years, reporting a R23.9 billion profit before tax in its latest financial results — a sharp turnaround from the R25.5bn loss the previous year. This marked the first return to profitability since the 2017 financial year.

Economists have cautioned that a 15% wage hike is unrealistic and unaffordable for the State-owned power utility, which remains heavily reliant on government guarantees.

Professor Waldo Krugell, an economist at North-West University, described the NUM's wage demand as "unreasonable".