Eskom workers have downed tools at three power stations amid a wage negotiation deadlock between the utility and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

According to NUM, the 7% to 9% wage increase offered by Eskom is “an insult to the hard-working Eskom workers who are keeping the light burning.”

The union accused Eskom of refusing to close the apartheid wage gap. “After 22 years of democracy, Eskom is still paying its workers based on the apartheid system. White employees are still being paid more that black people,” NUM said in a statement.

The workers are demanding a one year-year wage agreement, an increase of 12% for maximum wage earners and 13% for minimum wage earners, selling of service and occasional leave, closure of the apartheid wage gap, and a housing of R5000 per month.

Eskom has called the strike illegal, stating that because the utility is defined as an essential service provide, no one Eskom employees are allowed to go on strike.

The utility reported on Monday that its operations had not yet been impacted by the strike, but more workers are expected to join the strike today.

NUM has around 15 000 members at Eskom, close to a third of its workforce.