JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — Warning that the “death of Eskom is the death of the economy,” the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has confirmed it will pursue a Constitutional Court challenge to halt the Eskom unbundling process, standing firmly behind the utility’s board chair who cautioned that premature asset transfers could destabilise creditors and cripple the power entity’s finances.
The announcement followed resolutions adopted at the NUM’s national executive council, which convened from August 5 to 7. Union leadership briefed journalists in Johannesburg, signalling an escalation in labour’s opposition to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s late-July endorsement of the Eskom restructuring task team’s phase one report.
R100 Billion Transfer at the Centre of the Dispute
The approved report outlines the creation of an Independent Transmission System Operator (TSO), a move that would see National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) assets—valued at roughly R100 billion—removed from Eskom’s books. The NUM contends this transfer represents an existential threat to the utility.
Khangela Baloyi, NUM Energy Sector Coordinator, described the proposed separation in stark terms. “Once you decide to remove a part of revenue from the Eskom books, you will definitely affect the liquidity of that company,” Baloyi said. “You are actually indirectly killing Eskom.”
He pushed back against claims from the Presidency that the reform would unlock a competitive wholesale electricity market and stimulate investment. Calling such projections “scaring tactics,” Baloyi insisted that Eskom is already stabilising. The utility’s Energy Availability Factor currently stands at 65 percent, a marked recovery from the 55 percent recorded in 2023.
“Why do you want to fix a company that is not broken?” Baloyi asked. “Sometimes when you try to fix something that is not broken, you end up breaking it, and that will create serious problems for society as a whole.”
“Leave Eskom to Technocrats”
The union drew a sharp line between political decision-making and technical governance. Baloyi described Eskom Chairperson Mteto Nyati as “a technocrat” who “understands what he’s talking about,” particularly regarding contractual trigger clauses linked to asset transfers.
“When he says the transfer may trigger the transfer of control provisions in the agreement, he’s correct,” Baloyi said. He questioned the Presidency’s response that the National Treasury would examine the matter, asking pointedly: “Where is Treasury going to get the money?”
NUM President Philip Vilakazi reinforced the position, stating: “With this rush, we agree with the chair of the board to say there is no need for us to rush. We have got our own economy to nurse. We have got our own people to feed.”
Baloyi further argued that the constitutional mandate to oversee Eskom resides with the Department of Electricity and Energy, not the Presidency, and questioned the legal basis for a presidential task team restructuring a state-owned company. “Politicians must leave Eskom alone,” he declared. “The problems of Eskom are known by technocrats.”
Those core challenges, according to the union, are fourfold: mounting municipal debt, escalating primary energy costs, the financial burden of Independent Power Producers, and declining electricity sales. None of these, Baloyi maintained, can be resolved by splitting the utility into three entities—a path he says leads inevitably to privatisation.
Legal Strategy: Waiting for the Trigger
The NUM disclosed that it is meeting with its legal counsel in the coming days to formalise court papers. Baloyi explained that earlier attempts to litigate were stalled after the union was advised it was “too early” to mount a challenge. The union had written two letters to the Presidency raising objections and had approached an independent dispute resolution institute, where a case remains under review.
“We were told you must wait for the trigger,” Baloyi noted. “Now the trigger is this report released by the task team.”
The union insists its restructuring opposition extends beyond Eskom employees. Baloyi stressed that the fallout would ripple through coal mining operations and the entire energy value chain, affecting all of South African society.
Rising Female Mining Fatalities Raise Alarm
Beyond the energy sector battle, the NUM raised urgent concerns about workplace safety during Women’s Month. Masibulele Naki, the union’s National Secretary for Health and Safety, highlighted a growing number of fatalities among female mineworkers, with the North West and Kimberley regions recording the highest numbers.
Naki recounted recent tragedies, including a female worker who fell into a shaft and died, another who perished while working on an underground stope, and a third killed during trimming operations.
“In all areas underground, females are exposed to risk, are exposed to death,” Naki said, stressing that women are deployed across every hazardous section of mining operations without adequate safety interventions. While the union did not present consolidated statistics at the briefing, Naki confirmed the trend is worsening.
Diamond Sector Retrenchments Under Fire
The NUM also addressed mass retrenchments sweeping through the diamond mining industry. Union leadership insisted that ordinary workers must not be made to absorb the consequences of corporate mismanagement, particularly while executive earnings and profit structures remain shielded from similar cost-cutting measures.
As the NUM finalises its legal strategy, the confrontation between organised labour and the state over the future structure of South Africa’s electricity supply appears headed for the country’s highest court, with the union vowing not to back down until the unbundling timeline is reconsidered.
