The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is grimly pleased that admissions made at a conference on the mining industry's response to the power crisis have "totally vindicated" its campaign of mass action.

The federation reckons that the statement by National Energy Regulator (Nersa) CEO Smunda Mokoena that Eskom's load-shedding earlier this year cost the economy R50-billion confirms Cosatu's view that the energy crisis poses a real threat of job losses, an economic slowdown and far fewer news jobs being created.

"It flatly contradicts the assurance given by Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin in January that 'the government is confident that through the reduction of electricity use, the current healthy growth could be maintained'."

At the conference, the Chamber of Mines predicted that investment in the mining industry over the next five years was likely to be reduced by between R16-billion and R25-billion because of the 10 percent power reduction forced on mines.

The chamber's economist, Roger Baxter, said a survey of mining companies had found that jobs were at risk. Employment was expected to drop "substantially" if the reduction in the power supply was maintained. Even Eskom spokesperson, Andrew Etzinger, conceded that Eskom "recognises the effect on the economy of the power cuts".

More determined than ever

Patrick Craven the union group's spokesperson said on Wednesday that it is more determined than ever to fight to save all the jobs that are now on the line. The federation is committed to support the national campaign to reduce electricity consumption and find a lasting solution to the crisis. It is involved in the Task Team that is developing a consolidated stakeholder response to proposed interventions to address the electricity crisis.

But Cosatu stands staunchly by its main demand, Craven said, that as an absolutely basic principle, we should ensure that the costs of the power cuts are not borne by the poorest in society, that workers are not retrenched as a result of the power cuts and that the electrification programme to poor households is not compromised.

"Workers and the poor must not have to pay, through either higher tariffs or losing their jobs, for a crisis that is the fault of a government error in not providing Eskom with the money they insisted they needed to build new generating capacity in the late 1990s, when they were planning to privatise the public utility," he said.

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