---
title: "Exclusive – Eskom increases its offer in wage talks again to 5.25%"
description: "Eskom has raised its wage hike offer to unions to 5.25% from 4.5%, according to a document seen by Business Maverick."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "POWER CRISIS"
author: "Ed Stoddard"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/ed-stoddard/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-05-24-exclusive-eskom-increases-offer-in-wage-talks-again/"
published: "2023-05-24T11:46:58"
updated: "2023-05-24T15:25:40"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 160
---

# Exclusive – Eskom increases its offer in wage talks again to 5.25%

> Eskom has raised its wage hike offer to unions to 5.25% from 4.5%, according to a document seen by Business Maverick.

By Ed Stoddard · Published 24 May 2023, 13:46 SAST · Updated 24 May 2023, 17:25 SAST

## Key points
- As the rand's meltdown continues and inflation remains high, unions are unlikely to accept Eskom's "final" 5.25% wage offer, setting the stage for a possible dispute heading into conciliation and arbitration.
- Unions likely to reject Eskom's 5.25% wage offer
- Solidarity, NUM and Numsa demanding higher increases
- Inflation slowing, but interest rates rising
- Talks could end in deadlock and dispute if no agreement reached

## Content

The trio of unions involved will hold separate meetings later in the day – called caucusing – but a union source said he expected them to reject the offer.

Solidarity is demanding CPI plus 3%, NUM 11% and Numsa 12%.

CPI slowed in April to an 11-month low of 6.8%, data showed on Wednesday. That is unlikely to prevent the central bank from hiking rates again on Thursday to stem the rand’s meltdown.

**Read more in Daily Maverick:**

[Eskom raises wage hike offer to 4.5% from 3.75%, unions will be seeing red](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-05-23-eskom-raises-wage-hike-offer-to-4-5-from-3-75-unions-will-be-seeing-red/)

[Stalemate looms after Eskom raises wage hike offer from 3.75% to 4.5%](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-05-23-stalemate-looms-after-eskom-raises-wage-hike-offer-from-3-75-to-4-5/)

With inflation at elevated if slowing levels and interest rates rising, the unions will almost certainly push for more than the 5.25% offer which Eskom described as “final”.

The third round of the talks will end Thursday and if they end deadlocked a dispute will likely be called, sending the process into conciliation and arbitration. **DM/BM**