The unprotected strike at Eskom, blamed for plunging South Africa into the throes of Stage 6 load shedding, is juddering to a halt but is not completely over. Employees at four power stations were still holding out late on Wednesday, though union bosses were trying to coax them back to work ahead of the resumption of wage talks on Friday.

Load shedding looks set to continue apace even as the majority of striking Eskom employees return to work. But there are holdouts, reflecting union anger at the state-owned enterprise (SOE), which in turn will try the patience of the public as the lights go out in the cold dark of winter.

"While some workers have started reporting for duty at the power stations, there is still a high level of absenteeism," Eskom said in a statement on Wednesday.

A breakthrough had come after Eskom and the union leaders met on Tuesday and agreed to resume wage talks on Friday at the Central Bargaining Forum. The strike is unlawful or unprotected because Eskom is an essential service and so has not been sanctioned by union leadership. But it was members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union...