Unions and Salga reach stalemate over wages

A MASSIVE protest is looming after a stalemate was reached over wage negotiations, when SA Local Government Association (Salga) failed to meet the demands of the unions by tabling only 4.4 percent during the first round of negotiations.

During a media briefing held at the Pavilion Hotel in Durban on Friday, Samwu’s national general secretary, Wal- ter Theledi, warned their employer not to “try” them because Salga would face the wrath of the workers. He said workers were aware that strikes were expensive to both parties because of the “no work no pay” rule.

“Workers are ready to fight for what they deserve. The employer should desist from undermining people who are at the forefront of service delivery – unless they really want to experience the full might of the workers.”

This comes days after unions rejected the three-year wage increase proposal.

The Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) and Cosatu affiliates, which collectively represent about 58 percent of public service employees, asked Salga to return to the table with a revised offer.

Salga have offered a 4.4 per- cent increase for the first year and an inflation-related increase plus 0.25 percent for years two and three.

But the unions tabled a demand of a 15 percent wage hike in September, while the government offered an increase of 5.8 percent in line with inflation over three years in December.

Samwu regional secretary, Nhlanhla Nyandeni, said they had a “giant” demand of 15 percent across the board or R4 000 in monetary value.

“Minimum wages for entry is R9 625. At the moment it is about R7 000. We want to do away with this three-year agreement,” he said.

He said the proposed percentage was far below inflation and this was a joke to them.

“We are at a stalemate at this stage and we do not know when negotiations will resume,” Nyandeni said.