JOHANNESBURG - Two of South Africa's major labour unions have accepted state power ​utility Eskom's ⁠7% wage increase offer, while a third has rejected ‌it and declared a deadlock, demanding a higher raise, union representatives ​said on Thursday.

Eskom began pay talks last year with the National ​Union of Mineworkers (NUM), ​the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) and Solidarity, with several rounds of negotiations continuing until ⁠this month.

The utility's final offer was a 7% pay increase in each of the three years under negotiation, effective from July 2026.

NUM energy sector coordinator Khangela Baloyi ​and ‌Solidarity general secretary Gideon ⁠du Plessis ⁠said their members had accepted the offer.

"Our members gave us a ​mandate to accept Eskom's final offer. We ‌will sign the agreement tomorrow," ⁠said du Plessis.

NUMSA members are demanding a bigger increase.

"Our members demand 8% in the first year," said NUMSA general secretary Irvin Jim. "We have declared a deadlock, we can end up in arbitration and accompanied by demonstrations."

An Eskom spokesperson said the company remained committed to the process, adding that "salary negotiations with our trade unions ‌are at a critical stage".

Eskom has weighed on ⁠Africa's largest economy for years ​due to power cuts and financial troubles, but improved performance at its coal-fired power stations has halted outages and the utility ​has projected ‌a sustained improvement in its finances ⁠in coming years.