Eskom opts not to renew Exxaro contract
Eskom CEO Brian Molefe has decided not to renew a contract it has had for 40 years with Mpumalanga's Exxaro Arnot coal mine for the supply of coal to the Arnot Power Station.
Unions are concerned the decision will lead to the retrenchment of employees in the mining industry and are asking that the decision be reversed.
Spokesperson for Eskom Khulu Phasiwe says Exxaro can submit a proposal to renew their contract but there will be other bidders.
''A contact - by definition - is that there is a starting point and an end point and the end point in this case, is in the end of this month, 31 December.
''What we have done as the company is to open a request of proposal, which is a normal process that you do when the contract that we have with a current company comes to an end,'' he said.
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The National Union of Mineworkers is threatening to embark on a national strike over the non-renewal saying it fears more than 1 000 permanent employees will lose their jobs
NUM Deputy General-Secretary William Mabapa says the union has been asking for a meeting with the CEO.
''There is no power station that can generate power without coal. The question is, when Arnot coal mine closes, we're talking around 600 jobs that will be lost, and Exxaro coal mine around 1100 excluding contractors.
''The notice we have shows that, as far as contractors are concerned, around 3000 workforce will be affected,'' he said.
(File photo)