FEDUSA rejects Eskom tariff increases

13 January 2023

 

The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) is enraged by the decision of the National Energy Regulator’s (NERSA) to grant Eskom tariff increases of 18.65% and 12.74% over the next two year.

NERSA’s approval of the electricity tariff increases will spell a devastating reality for the poor and working class as this means prices of basic goods and other necessary items will hike and cost of living will spiral. The increase will see many South Africans struggling to survive.

 

It is inconsiderate for NERSA to grant the increase whilst there is a myriad of problems at Eskom and South Africans are now subjected to extensive power cuts daily.

We are currently on load shedding stage 6 and this has had a huge negative impact on schools, businesses, hospitals and other sectors. This cannot be the new normal for the country and FEDUSA calls for urgent results driven intervention by the government.

 

Consumers are buying electricity that they never get to use fully yet the service remains expensive, problematic, and unreliable. In the private sectors the levels of loadshedding are killing all efforts to create and sustain jobs, short time and company closures are common. The increase in tariffs more than three times the current inflation rate will force companies to save money elsewhere and jobs will be lost.

 

Site the costs of losses for everyday that the power is out. Undue expenditure and inability to recoup losses due to downtime, only points to massive S189 processes being initiated by struggling employers and businesses.

Inability and continued delays in bringing power stations on board after scheduled maintenance, is only frustrating the process. FEDUSA demands action by government with absolute urgency and conviction, failing which, the noble efforts of the Economic Resconstruction and Recovery Plan as well as the Eskom Compact will be rendered worthless, as workers and South African’s face demise.

 

Just weeks shy of the State of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa needs to save this nation and provide solutions to end the problems at the power utility and the country’s economic crisis.

FEDUSA therefore calls for the increase not to be implemented and for the decision to be revisited.

 

 

For Media enquiries

Betty Moleya

0613961841

 

For interviews please contact:

Ms Riefdah Ajam

FEDUSA General Secretary

079 696 2625

 

Mr Ashley Benjamin

FEDUSA Deputy General Secretary

0832584433

FEDUSA CELEBRATES AFTER SECURING WORKERS AN EXTRA PAID PUBLIC HOLIDAY!

08 NOVEMBER 2022

 

The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) has successfully petitioned the Presidency to grant the country’s workers their rightful amount of rest days this year after the agreement to declare 27 December a paid public holiday.

 

Months ago, the federation requested that President Cyril Ramaphosa should review the December holidays calendar after realising that Christmas Day is on a Sunday, while Day of Goodwill is on a Monday. Had FEDUSA not intervened, this would have seen South African workers losing out on a paid holiday as the 27th of December would have been an ordinary working day.

 

We took on this fight considering the challenges facing our members in the retail and hospitality sector among others who would not have had the liberty to enjoy the 12 public holidays as determined by the Public Holidays Act of 1994.

The Act stipulates that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following it shall be a public holiday. This means that Christmas Day’s holiday is on Monday the 26th, which is already a holiday, meaning that workers would have been robbed of an extra day on the 27th.

FEDUSA is pleased that President Ramaphosa has heeded the workers’ pleas, further giving us comfort about his commitment to the yet-to-be-realised social compact. As a federation that believes in consultative processes, the decision could not have come at a better time following weeks of discussions with the President’s office over the matter.

 

Originally, the Day of Goodwill was referred to as Boxing Day. However, as the country ushered in a new democracy in 1994, the name of the holiday was changed as the country overcame its colonial past rooted in British traditions. Since then, South Africans have had the opportunity to enjoy the day unwinding with their families following Christmas festivities.

 

Albeit this is not the first time that the country has had to deal with this complexity of the holidays falling on multiple weekend days before, FEDUSA is delighted that Ramaphosa has sighed off the public holiday.

 

We also want to take this opportunity to wish the country’s workers who have worked relentlessly to stave off the possibility of a technical recession happy and responsible holidays.

We applaud FEDUSA members for their sustained calls for the President to declare the 27th of December a paid public holiday. This has amplified the federation’s belief that we can only secure victories through concerted and intentional effort as a collective.

 

For Media enquiries

Betty Moleya

0613961841

 

For interviews please contact:

Ms Riefdah Ajam

FEDUSA General Secretary

076 696 2625

 

Mr Ashley Benjamin

FEDUSA Deputy General Secretary

083 258 4433

 

FEDUSA Ready to Protest for Decent Salaries For Public Servants

21 November 2022

 

The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) and its affiliates in the public service reiterates its support for the National Day of Action planned for tomorrow.

 

We call on members of the public to support the nationwide protests planned by FEDUSA, COSATU and SAFTU. We recognise that the government’s insistence on shrinking the wages of public servants will harm the public more. It is in this light that we will form part of the marches which will take place in different cities tomorrow because we are alive to the reality that if we do not wage this struggle against the employer, the public service could collapse.

 

Workers in the sector want the government to increase their salaries by 10 per cent across the board and guarantee the continued payment of the R1000 cash gratuity beyond March 2023. We support this call, as we did recently through the action initiated by our affiliates the Public Servants Association and Hospersa.

 

We also want to make a clarion call to all our members and the federation’s affiliates in other sectors to support the National Day of Action.

 

 

ENDS

For Media enquiries

Betty Moleya

0613961841

 

For interviews please contact:

Ms Riefdah Ajam

FEDUSA General Secretary

076 696 2625

 

Mr Ashley Benjamin

FEDUSA Deputy General Secretary

083 258 4433

/1 Comment

FEDUSA welcomes life sentence against Free State pastor

15 November 2022

 

The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) has learnt with satisfaction that a Free State man has been sentenced to life in prison after he kept a 50-year-old woman hostage for eight months and raped her during that time. Media reports say the 40-year-old man was sentenced in the Viljoenskroon Magistrate’s Court.

 

Fedusa has long called for hefty sentences against perpetrators of abuse against women and children and we believe the punishment meted out by the court in this instance is appropriate. The federation is of the view that only when law enforcement is seen to be proactive in protecting society in general from such predators, will we see an improvement in the national gender-based violence crisis.

 

We applaud the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and investigating officers involved in the case. We, however, reiterate the call for the implementation of the National Strategic Plan to Combat Gender-Based Violence. In the coming month, we will hear a lot about the efforts underway to rid society of gender-based violence, however, we believe that the restoration of victims’ and survivors’ trust in the justice system is a pillar of such efforts.

 

The federation believes that the woman whose perpetrator was brought to justice in the Free State has been extended the necessary trauma counselling and other help by authorities as provisioned, for victims of abuse.

 

ENDS

For Media enquiries

Betty Moleya

0613961841

 

For interviews please contact:

Ms Riefdah Ajam

FEDUSA General Secretary

076 696 2625

 

Mr Ashley Benjamin

FEDUSA Deputy General Secretary

083 258 4433

FEDUSA wishes the Matric Class of 2022 well for the NSC final exams

31 October 2022

The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) wishes the Matric Class of 2022 well as they sit for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) final examinations.

The Class of 2022 were in grade 10 during the start of the pandemic and against all odds they made it through to grade 12. The implementation of rotational attendance in schools saw learners have difficulty in learning and finishing the curriculum.

Parents and guardians are encouraged to offer emotional support and assistance to the learners. It is a fact that learners are often overwhelmed during exams. However, there are support helplines that learners can utilize if they feel overwhelmed or not coping with the final examinations.

To all teachers and FEDUSA affiliated members we thank you for the unwavering commitment to see learners through their academic career. Your hard work and support to the learners is also noted and appreciated.

To our matriculants, ace those examinations and make us proud! Good luck.

ENDS

(155 Words)

 

For interviews please contact:

Ms. Riefdah Ajam

FEDUSA General Secretary

076 696 2626

 

Mr. Ashley Benjamin

FEDUSA Deputy General Secretary

083 258 4433

 

For Media enquiries

Betty Moleya

0613961841

 

 

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