Strike could disrupt key govt services
● The Public Servants Association (PSA) will lead its 235,000 members on a one-day stayaway on Thursday that will disrupt airports, border posts and immigration and other home affairs services. This follows a breakdown in public sector wage talks and the award of strike certificates to four unions by the public sector bargaining council.
Claude Naiker, PSA national manager for members’ affairs, said the stayaway would also affect the issuing of car licences and services rendered by the department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Inspectors from the department of employment and labour, responsible for the enforcement of health and safety laws, are also set to down tools.
“The essential service workers who are not allowed to strike will picket during lunchtime,” said Naiker.
The PSA began lunchtime pickets on Thursday, standing firm on its demand for a 6.5% salary increase across the board and the continuation of a R1,000 monthly cash gratuity that ends in March 2023. However, the government decided to implement a 3% wage increase after invoking section 5 of the Public Service Act.
Naiker said the PSA wanted the government to continue the R1,000 cash payments until a new agreement was reached next year. “Because (the gratuity) is going to stop, people will be out of pocket from April 1. We want the cash allowance to continue beyond March 31 2023.”
He said members were informed that the 3% wage offer would be unilaterally implemented, but there was no indication of the effective date.
“At the moment it is just a notice. The unions think it is a ploy to frighten us, but this has angered us more because once you unilaterally implement there is no use negotiating,” he said.
This week, public sector unions including the Democratic Nursing Organisation (Denosa), the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union and Health & Other Services Personnel Trade Union were issued with strike certificates, bringing the country closer to a debilitating strike.
However, teachers affiliated to the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) would not be joining the picket lines after the union accepted the government’s offer. Sadtu general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said union officials could not undermine a decision by members to accept the government’s salary offer.
“The members made a decision that they will accept the offer — and we respect that.”
Maluleke said the R1,000 monthly cash gratuity, the reinstatement of the 1.5% pay progression, and the 3% salary increase were not the best but in the current circumstances had to be accepted.
“The offer did not come cheap. We had to fight for the reinstatement of the 1.5% pay progression; we had to fight very hard to make sure the effective date is April 1, so that it is retrospective instead of what the employer was proposing. Sadtu members are not saying this is the best of the best but given the conditions and the possibility that they are not going to get anything above that ... they accepted,” he said.
Maluleke said previous industrial action had taught Sadtu that the highest they would ever get after 22 days of strikes was a 0.5% improvement on the initial offer.
“Members have learnt that the no work, no pay principle is damaging to them. They are not afraid of going on strike, but they want to when they know the possibility is there for them to push the employer to improve the offer by more than 0.5%.”
Denosa chief negotiator Khaya Sodidi confirmed the union had been granted a certificate of non-resolution, meaning it reserved its right to embark on industrial action.
He said Denosa and other Cosatu-affiliated unions were balloting members on whether to embark on industrial action and were expecting the outcome next week.
“If we go on strike we expect all clinics and hospitals will be affected,” he said.
The members made a decision that they will accept the offer — and we respect that
Mugwena Maluleke
Sadtu general secretary