Popcru rejects 3% wage offer, plan to march to the Union buildings
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) has rejected the current wage offer tabled by the government at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC).
Since 2020, workers have not received any increases with the state currently offering a three percent increase on baseline salaries, subject to the introduction of measures to source funding in order to cover the increases.
In rejecting the offer, Popcru spokesperson, Richard Mamabolo says parties are simply not finding each other.
"Clause 3.2 of this draft agreement is another form of government intention to retrench the already overworked and understaffed public service as it gives the government a loophole not only to fully honour the wage agreement as its funding is dependent on measures only known by government,” he says.
"As things stand, members within the Criminal Justice (CJC) are spending about 90% of their salaries on basic needs, while they do not qualify for RDP houses, and cannot afford bonded houses. All these challenges they face while government has been refusing to implement the Government Employee Housing Scheme (GEHS).”
He goes on: "As a union, we are of the view that what they have put on the table is an insult. Inflation is currently at 7,8%, having accelerated to an over 13-year high of 7.8% in July of 2022. Our view is that the increase should be above inflation on the baseline, which will increase the notch and pensionable increase.”
Mamabolo says Popcru members will be holding a national march to the union buildings on the 20th of September 2022 to submit a memorandum to President Cyril Ramaphosa “over the many issues that the different departments have failed to address over the years, which have had a negative impact on the work of law enforcement officers.”
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