Biggest ever loss of nuclear experts, Solidarity warns as PBMR reaches bitter end

While Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) will finally reach a bitter end this week, Solidarity warned that it will cause South Africa the biggest ever loss of nuclear expertise. The trade unions emphasized that South Africa's loss of expertise will cause the country irreparable damage and that it will take years to fill the resultant skills gap. 

Solidarity's reaction comes after the finalisation of the voluntary severance agreement at PBMR today. It is expected that most of the employees at PBMR will take the voluntary retrenchment packages.

A Section 189 notice for the retrenchment of nearly 800 of the employees at the company was issued to Solidarity in February. That was followed by nearly five months of extensive consultations between trade unions, the employer and the government regarding alternatives to the termination of this multimillion-rand nuclear energy research project.

"The process has now almost been finalised, and although the best possible severance agreement has been negotiated for employees, the end of PBMR is a bitter time for the employees and South Africa. The research conducted there thus far has placed South Africa at another level as far as nuclear power is concerned, and the extent of the loss caused by the termination of the project cannot be determined now. The future simply lies in nuclear energy, and because of South Africa's current electricity problems it can really be regarded as one of the only solutions to the growing electricity needs and problems," explained Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans.

The minister of public enterprises, Barbara Hogan, allegedly has to make a decision in August this year about the availability of funding for the nuclear industry in South Africa. This decision could possibly lead to a revival of PBMR, but Solidarity believes that the damage and loss of expertise resulting from the retrenchment process are irreversible. "It would be a case of too little, too late. The majority of PBMR's scientists have already found other work since the start of the retrenchment process in February. They found greener pastures abroad, and their departure is a sad loss for South Africa," Kleynhans emphasized. Scientists have already accepted positions in countries such as the USA, Canada and Australia.

Meanwhile, only 25 employees of PBMR are likely to remain at the company to protect the intellectual property built up over the past decade.

In terms of the severance agreement that has been negotiated for voluntary retrenchments, employees who have been retrenched will receive two and half weeks' salary for every completed year of service. In addition, employees will also receive a payout of R5 000 to use for training.

Statement issued by Jaco Kleynhans, Solidarity spokesperson, June 21 2010

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