Labour unions representing the bulk of Eskom’s operational staff have firmly rejected the utility’s initial pay increase proposal, triggering a high-stakes negotiation that could exacerbate the state-owned enterprise’s delicate financial position. Eskom, which has been in continuous wage talks with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), and Solidarity since early November 2025, tabled a three-year offer of a 3.5 per cent annual increase. This figure aligns closely with the prevailing inflation rate, yet union leaders quickly dismissed it as wholly inadequate.
The three unions collectively represent approximately two-thirds of Eskom’s total headcount, encompassing its crucial bargaining council workforce. The remaining third consists primarily of management and executive staff, whose remuneration is determined separately. The demands from the labour side are significantly higher: NUM and Numsa are pushing for a 15 per cent salary hike, while Solidarity seeks a more moderate, yet still robust, increase equating to the consumer price index (CPI) plus 4 per cent. Given the CPI currently stands at 3.6 per cent, Solidarity’s proposal translates to a 7.6 per cent increase. Furthermore, NUM is also demanding substantial benefits, including a R7,000 monthly housing allowance and an increase in Eskom’s contribution to employee medical aid schemes to 80 per cent.
The chief Eskom negotiator for NUM reportedly labelled the utility’s 3.5 per cent offer a “mockery,” arguing it failed to acknowledge the value of the workforce. This sentiment was echoed by a Numsa spokesperson, who stated to SABC Newsthat the “paltry” proposal did not account for the staff’s contributions to Eskom’s recent financial and operational successes. The spokesperson cited the company’s announced R16 billion profit, a record period exceeding 500 days without widespread load-shedding, and an Energy Availability Factor (EAF) hitting 90 per cent as justification for a higher settlement.
However, the 90 per cent EAF claim merits careful scrutiny. Official data indicates that the average EAF for 2025, up to the 47th week, sat at 61.82 per cent, which, while representing the best operational performance since 2019, remains critically far from the global standard of 75-80 per cent required for systemic stability. The EAF only briefly exceeded the 70 per cent threshold during isolated weekly periods late in the year. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) had, for its part, provisionally accounted for a minimum salary increase of 7 per cent within its framework for approving Eskom’s electricity price increases, suggesting the 3.5 per cent offer from the utility is surprisingly low in comparison to its own regulatory guidance.
Eskom, through its spokesperson, affirmed its commitment to transparency and fairness, insisting that any outcome must be sustainable and protect the interests of all staff. However, the utility is under pressure to curb its ballooning operational costs. Historically, Eskom has granted its bargaining council employees increases significantly above the inflation rate. Over the last eight years alone, Eskom salaries rose by approximately 64 per cent, markedly outpacing the cumulative 44 per cent increase in compounded CPI for the same period. This trend is further illustrated by the staggering rise in the average cost per employee since 1990, which has escalated from R38,000 to R1.026 million, representing a 2,600 per cent jump—a rate three times higher than inflation over that quarter-century.
The employee cost increased by 12.7 per cent in the 2025 financial year compared to 2024, driven primarily by the previous 7 per cent wage settlement and the reinstatement of short-term incentives for high performers. Analysing the wage demands against the overall employee cost structure reveals a complex picture. It is understood that the average employee cost is skewed by high executive and management remuneration. As reported by Moneyweb during previous negotiation cycles, salary data from 2018 indicated that bargaining unit members earned between R11,283 and R54,176 per month. Adjusted for the subsequent eight years of increases, the updated figures suggest that the highest earners in the bargaining council now receive around R974,975 annually. This figure is still nearly R50,000 below the overall average cost per employee, even when published executive and board salaries are stripped out, suggesting that management-level staff—who constitute about one-third of the workforce—are earning substantially more than the reported average. The lack of detailed, granular remuneration breakdowns in Eskom’s annual reports makes a precise analysis of salary evolution by employee level impossible, clouding the issue of equitable pay distribution within the utility.