Parliamentary strike to continue

Workers in Parliament, the majority of whom were affiliated to Nehawu, had resolved on this action after Friday’s “disappointing report by the task team”, Nehawu parliament branch chairman Sthembiso Tembe said in a statement.

The task team comprises three members each from Nehawu and Parliament’s management, and was established to devise a plan on how to put into effect an agreement the two parties reached on Tuesday last week.

The strike in Parliament was suspended last Tuesday on condition that the task team would table a report “worth considering by the workers” by Friday, he said.

“Workers say the task team ought to have proposed percentages to be used for calculating the performance bonuses, state the date for the payment of performance bonuses, and in the event Parliament is unable to pay all the money to qualifying employees now, indicate how much they are able to pay now, as well as the date on which they intend paying the remainder.

“Unfortunately this did not happen and workers felt their concerns were not being taken serious, hence the resolution to continue with the strike action until a tangible plan is tabled. A meeting for the two parties to finalise this is likely to be called on Monday.”

The Nehawu leadership in Parliament hoped for a speedy resolution to this impasse so as to avoid any further strike action and to allow the business of Parliament to continue uninterrupted,” Tembe said.