Eskom says most workers at power plants, sporadic protests

ESKOM said most of its employees are at work, despite some ongoing demonstrations that started last week after a breakdown in wage negotiations, though generation capacity has yet to improve.

“The greater majority of employees are reporting for duty,” Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.’s media desk said in an emailed reply to questions.

There were still some “sporadic protests” and demonstrations on Monday and there’s more generation capacity unavailable than there was in previous days.

Wage negotiations between labor groups and Eskom ended in a deadlock last week, followed by protests at the majority of its coal-fired power stations that generate the bulk of South Africa’s electricity. Power outages that are implemented to protect the grid from a total collapse were extended until Wednesday as the utility builds up emergency reserves.

There haven’t been any meaningful wage increases for workers in the last five years, while the company’s other costs have