Solidarity call on engineers and technicians to help Eskom

HIGHVELD – The trade union, Solidarity, launched a skills bank on its website where engineers and technicians can register so that their skills can be re-recruited to help alleviate the crisis at the electricity giant, Eskom.

According to Dr Dirk Hermann, Chief Executive at Solidarity, the creation of this knowledge bank comes in the wake of announcements made by the president, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa and the public enterprises minister, Mr Pravin Gordhan that the services of competent former Eskom employees, locally and abroad, should be used to help alleviate Eskom’s skills shortages.

Solidarity offered its help by calling on all South Africans to make Eskom’s rescue a national project.

Dr Hermann said the condition for such assistance is that justice prevails.

Solidarity called on the president to appoint a commission of inquiry under the chairmanship of a judge to investigate the crisis, mismanagement, and corrupt activities at Eskom.

He said the commission’s terms of reference must be so that the findings could be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority for prosecution.

“We plan on propagating the skills bank widely among all our members, former members and their networks,” said Dr Hermann.

“We will post it on overseas groups, and we call on South African embassies and missions to help register South African skills so we could have the chance to re-recruit them.

“Many of the experts are abroad for the time being only and would be keen to offer their skills in South Africa instead.

“Thousands of retired engineers and technicians in South Africa are also ready to offer their help.”

According to Solidarity, the best investment that can be made in Eskom is an investment in top skills, even if it is only for the interim to ease Eskom out of its crisis.

Dr Hermann said Solidarity would put in all efforts to keep the country’s lights on.

“During the previous Eskom crisis, Solidarity members slept in power stations to help ensure Eskom had power supplies.

“They did so not because Eskom had shown them loyalty, but they did it out of loyalty to their country.”

Solidarity will do so again, but then the current employees must at least have security.

Dr Hermann said it is the employees at the power station level that is keeping Eskom going, not top management – they make the wrong decisions.

Solidarity also warned that packages and retrenchments would result in even more skilled workers leaving Eskom.

“The best people will leave first. Eskom cannot afford the loss of a single skilled staff member. If technical staff are now unsure about their jobs they will leave for safer companies, nationally and internationally, where major shortages of skilled staff are experienced.

“As far as staff is concerned a proper skills audit must be done.

“Skill mismatches must be identified and rectified.

“The immediate cost savings lie in the cancellation of totally inflated tenders, the aggressive stamping out of corruption right down to power station level, and the changing of procurement processes, while on the revenue side, outstanding debt must be collected.”

To register on Solidarity’s website to offer your help, visit https://solidariteit.co.za/en/eskom-knowlgedge/