The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) said it would make a decision on Wednesday regarding possible strike action at Medupi power station in Lephalale, with a warning that Eskom’s lock-out of workers is a declaration of war.
Numsa spokesperson Castro Ngobese told Fin24 on Wednesday that Numsa would meet with other unions later in the day to discuss the way forward, which could mean embarking on strike action.
On Tuesday, Numsa’s head of collective bargaining Steve Nhlapo told Fin24 that workers had decided to stay away from work on Wednesday. However, Ngobese said workers had been locked out of Medupi and were not voluntarily staying away.
“What is really happening at Medupi is that our members have been locked out, and we see this not only as a provocation, but a declaration of war,” he said.
“We are meeting workers this afternoon to discuss how best we can respond to this lock-out as imposed on our members by Eskom and its contractors.”
