Families suffer because of Medupi strike

LEPHALALE – On Tuesday workers at the Medupi plant were frustrated when they drove into a police barricade on their way to work.
According to reports the street leading to the Medupi plant was cordoned off after workers were denied access to the site by striking members who were using their private vehicles to weave through traffic and intimidate workers on their way to the site.
The strike has begun to take its toll on most of the workers and the no-work-no-pay system has left many families in dire straits with churches and welfare organisations stepping in to provide food and other necessities to the affected people.
“I am at my wits-end, we are living on the goodwill of other people at the moment,” one lady who did not want to be named said.
Her sentiments are shared by many others who are also starting to feel the pinch in an already strained economy. One person living at the Medupi hostels said that the people who are on strike are few but they are well resourced and armed.
“If you stay with them in a hostel you know you can’t go against anything they say” he said.
According to the Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe only about 2 000 workers reported for duty compared to the normal 14 000 workforce.
Many workers claim that they would prefer to go back to work but are scared of being intimidated or attacked by their colleagues who are striking.
Medupi and Kusile plants were expected to be completed by 2021 but that date might be reviewed again as a result of the continuing strike.