Unions Embark on Nationwide Strikes, Joburg City Eskom Distribution Takeover Faces Hurdles

LOCAL NEWS

• Union Cosatu expected to launch a nationwide strike on Thursday, which comes at the same time as the Numsa steel/engineering strike which began on Tuesday. Analysts are saying Numsa's indefinite strike may be similar to the 2014 stroke that lasted 4 weeks and cost the economy R6bn as the industry represents 2% of SA's GDP.
  • Numsa is calling for an 8% increase in 2021 & CPI +2% for the next two years and employers are offering 4.4%, CPI +0.5% & CPI +1%. Numsa represents 432,000 workers and saw steel producing stocks fall yesterday, but companies say they have prepared better for this strike than in 2014 – stocking raw materials for production ahead of time
• The City of Johannesburg's plan to take over distribution from Eskom faces several multibillion rand hurdles, including R7.5 billion in outstanding consumer debt and R4 billion to take ownership of distribution infrastructure.
  • Electricity supply has turned into a critical election issue in Gauteng, where communities have borne the brunt of 'load reduction' by Eskom.
• A new analysis shows SA is one of only 13 economies producing less now than a decade ago. An honest discussion now needs to take place about SA's economic policy and the disaster in the manufacturing industry, says economist Mike Schüssler.
  • After 16 years of the Industrial Policy Action Plan and as many versions, SA manufacturing has gone nowhere. In the second quarter, fewer people were employed in the formal manufacturing industry than in 1969, he said