Suffering a loss of real incomes over the last five years, members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) picketed the corporate office of South Africa’s largest defense industry, demanding wage hike and reinstatement of benefits.

Serious questions of conflict of interest have been raised as the business rescue practitioners ask the ailing airline to pay R250,000 per month to Redford Capital – a consultancy firm of which they themselves are the directors.

Phakamile Hlubi-Majola discusses the struggle being waged by South African trade unions to save the country’s airline and above all, to protect its employees

The airline withheld workers’ salaries for May and the union has argued that the company is using the pandemic as “a cover for the restructuring which is taking place”

The state-run company is selling 8 refineries, thousands of miles of pipelines, and fuel distributors

Union’s solution to the crisis in Eskom is a reversal of the government’s policy of decommissioning Eskom’s power production units and outsourcing the energy requirement to private companies

The leadership of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa met to discuss the various labor disputes in the country, the demands for wage hike, and the state of government-owned enterprises

The “rescue plan” for Eskom unveiled by the South African minister for public enterprises proposes the unbundling of the state-owned company and increases reliance on private Independent Power Producers, which the unions claim, is the root cause of Eskom’s financial troubles.