Homes left without power as E-Red strike continues

FRUSTRATED residents of Swakopmund hurled angry accusations at striking E-Red workers on Friday as they faced a weekend without electricity.

Strikers have barred the entrances to all electricity pay points in the Erongo Region since the strike started on Thursday. For people with pre-paid electricity meters, this means no power at their homes until the situation is resolved.Dozens of people who turned up at the E-red offices at Swakopmund on Friday to pay their bills or buy power credits were bluntly told that the offices were closed.Tempers flared, and some consumers threatened to remove the strikers from the entrance by force.”What then?” one striker asked.”The doors are locked, there’s no one to help you.”The Namibian was informed that up to 80 per cent of E-Red’s 188 workers were on strike at all the towns in the region where the regional electricity distributor is operating.Strikers told The Namibian that the strike would continue until the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) informed them that agreement had been reached on salary increases.That was little comfort to the people of Swakopmund.”This should not be the consumer’s problem.It is MUN’s and E-Red’s problem; they should at least let us get electricity for our households for the weekend,” a single mother with two children told The Namibian.”Ever since E-Red has taken over electricity services from our municipalities there have only been problems, and we as the consumers get handed the short end of the stick.”By yesterday, there was no sign of an end to the deadlock between MUN and E-Red.MUN Assistant Secretary Jonas Lumbu said it would not be acceptable for E-Red to send a “normal negotiating team” to talks with the union, and the CEO and board of directors should join the negotiating table.He said Government or the Electricity Board could step in as a last resort, but there were no indications of that happening yet.Lumbu was adamant that the MUN wanted salary increases of more than 7 per cent for E-Red workers.E-Red last week upped its offer to 7 per cent, including an electricity subsidy and travel allowances.”We are willing to come down from 8,5 and 9,5 per cent to 7-plus, but E-Red is not willing to go up even a little,” said one disgruntled striker at E-Red’s Mondesa office.E-Red CEO Gerhard Coeln was not available for comment yesterday.In an earlier interview, Coeln warned that the strike and the union’s demands could affect service delivery and electricity tariffs.For people with pre-paid electricity meters, this means no power at their homes until the situation is resolved.Dozens of people who turned up at the E-red offices at Swakopmund on Friday to pay their bills or buy power credits were bluntly told that the offices were closed.Tempers flared, and some consumers threatened to remove the strikers from the entrance by force.”What then?” one striker asked.”The doors are locked, there’s no one to help you.”The Namibian was informed that up to 80 per cent of E-Red’s 188 workers were on strike at all the towns in the region where the regional electricity distributor is operating.Strikers told The Namibian that the strike would continue until the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) informed them that agreement had been reached on salary increases.That was little comfort to the people of Swakopmund.”This should not be the consumer’s problem.It is MUN’s and E-Red’s problem; they should at least let us get electricity for our households for the weekend,” a single mother with two children told The Namibian.”Ever since E-Red has taken over electricity services from our municipalities there have only been problems, and we as the consumers get handed the short end of the stick.”By yesterday, there was no sign of an end to the deadlock between MUN and E-Red.MUN Assistant Secretary Jonas Lumbu said it would not be acceptable for E-Red to send a “normal negotiating team” to talks with the union, and the CEO and board of directors should join the negotiating table.He said Government or the Electricity Board could step in as a last resort, but there were no indications of that happening yet.Lumbu was adamant that the MUN wanted salary increases of more than 7 per cent for E-Red workers.E-Red last week upped its offer to 7 per cent, including an electricity subsidy and travel allowances.”We are willing to come down from 8,5 and 9,5 per cent to 7-plus, but E-Red is not willing to go up even a little,” said one disgruntled striker at E-Red’s Mondesa office.E-Red CEO Gerhard Coeln was not available for comment yesterday.In an earlier interview, Coeln warned that the strike and the union’s demands could affect service delivery and electricity tariffs.