PSA vows to bring services to a standstill

PSA, which has about 230 000 members, is demanding a 12% wage increase. The government is offering 7%.

 

Its members are now set to down tools from Monday.

 

“We will not be intimidated by anyone or back down when it comes to public sector employees’ legitimate demands for a living wage,” the union’s general-secretary Ivan Fredericks told the media at a briefing on Wednesday.

 

PSA’s deputy general manager Tahir Maepa denied accusations that the strike action would be illegal, daring Minister of Public Service and Administration Ayanda Dlodlo to take them to court.

 

“We gave them seven days’ notice for a strike action. She now comes to confuse the whole situation to say that the 21 days, which is part of the council processes, binds the PSA to stay put and not go on strike until the expiry of the 21 days and that is nonsense.

 

“This is the same statement that the secretary of council is trying to punt, to say that PSA 'withdraw your strike notice until 21 days'. We have never indicated that we were going to sign this agreement. We have never agreed to anything in that particular agreement. So we are not bound by any process which is not a legal process, and if the minister believes that this strike the PSA is about to embark on is illegal, let her take us to court and let’s see the outcome,” Fredericks said.

 

The three-year deal needs 50%+1 employees to sign for it to be implemented. The deadline for the unions to sign ends on June 18.

 

Currently, 48,8% of the unions have signed the agreement.

 

The National Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu), affiliated to Cosatu, has also not signed the agreement.

 

Dlodlo responded to the PSA’s planned strike action on Twitter by stating that the notice given to the employer was not procedural.

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