JOHANNESBURG – Unbundling Eskom will only make electricity unaffordable and result in a jobs blood bath.
That's the stance of the National Union of Mineworkers who marched through the streets of Johannesburg.
NUM members gathered in Newtown and marched to the Gauteng Premier’s Office, putting energy policy and labour concerns firmly in the spotlight.
At the heart of today’s protest was the strong opposition to Eskom’s unbundling.
The union said this is a step toward privatisation, something workers don't need, amid rising electricity costs, high unemployment, and other economic pressures.
NUM is also ramping up pressure on the ANC.
It's threatening to withdraw voter support over plans to unbundle Eskom.
The union fears this will only make electricity unaffordable for struggling South Africans.
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In Newtown, NUM members took to the streets in a red wave of protest, delivering a powerful political and economic message.
The streets of Newtown turned red as the union’s PWV region led a protest march.
Demonstrators say the move amounts to disguised privatisation.
Senzo Mncwango, NUM PWV regional secretary, said the country is faced with a number of challenges.
“One of the challenges is the issue of electricity prices that are escalating. We are saying there should be a way that the government caps the electricity that hampers the livelihoods of our people.
“Secondly, the issue of unbundling of Eskom. We are calling for a meaningful engagement with the government and the relevant stakeholders to say let us halt the issue of unbundling of Eskom, let us engage because we, as NUM we have not found the tangible reasons why Eskom is being unbundled.”