Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan says an agreement has been reached with unions to bring the strike at Eskom to an end, reports The Citizen.

Gordhan said the illegal industrial action by Eskom employees was the major cause of stage six load shedding in the country, but this has now been resolved.

The Minister said he took the unusual step of addressing the media to provide the country with reassurances about the stage six load shedding.

Gordhan said the strike by Eskom employees had worsened the production of electricity.

He said the strike was causing damage to SA’s reputation and government’s plans to grow the economy and impact on business.

He said an agreement was reached that unions will request their members to return to work today. ‘Where there has been intimidation, the backlog of maintenance will be attended to.’ The Minister added that government was doing everything possible to assist Eskom with its challenges.

Gordhan also said President Cyril Ramaphosa has been fully briefed on what happened with Eskom.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the National Union of Mineworkers and National Union of Metalworkers said they met with Eskom executives yesterday, including CEO, Andre de Ruyter, to discuss the current deadlock in the wage negotiations between the parties.

In a statement, both unions confirmed considerable progress in the negotiations, with a new offer which will be tabled at the Central Bargaining Forum on Friday.

Full report in The Citizen