Unions plan national strike action – starting this week
The Public Servants Association (PSA) and other unions are planning to start their mass-scale strike actions this week following the collapse of wage negotiations with the government through the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) facilitated processes on Monday (31 October).
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) and the PSA said that picking will commence on Thursday (3 November) outside public service offices in several provinces, which will be followed by a mass-scale march on Thursday (10 November).
“We will start our programme of action by picketing during lunchtime in the various provinces. This will culminate with a march that will take place on 10 November towards all our provinces where we have offices. And then this will lead to a full-blown strike action,” said PSA spokesperson Claude Naicker in an interview with Newsroom Afrika.
The imminent strike comes after the government offered a 3% pensionable salary increase and a cash gratuity of between R1,000 and R1,200 until the end of March 2023 – which the unions are unwilling to accept. This led to the PSA – representing more than 230,000 state workers – filing a notice of its intention to begin a strike last Monday (24 October) over the government’s failure to agree to its wage demands.
Naicker explained that the current offer is unacceptable as it is way below inflation in South Africa, which was at 7.5% in September, adding that while unions initially demanded 10%, they are willing to accept 6.5%.
However, the government is not budging on its current offer, with the finance minister stating in the mid-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) that an increase of 3% is what the fiscus can afford, and it’s fair. The minister of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), Thulas Nxesi, even went as far as to say that the government’s proposed 3% increase was “generous”.
Despite these sentiments, a major point of contention for the unions is the cash gratuity on offer, Naicker said. He noted that if they did not reach a salary agreement next year, or if there was a delay in finalising a deal, public servants would end up out of pocket after the cash gratuity is terminated in March 2023.
During his interview, in response to a question of whether the unions took into consideration the current state of the fiscus and the impact a strike of this scale would have on the country, Naicker said that no time is a good time for a strike – adding that strike action is often the last resort for any organisation.
However, if you consider the fact that Eskom employees got an increase in the region of 7% and Transnet workers got an increase of 6.5%, it is unfair to say that it is unaffordable to give public service the same benefit, he added.
SAFTU agreed with the PSA, and its general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said that the government must withdraw what it said in parliament and come to the table with a dignified offer for public service workers.
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