Public servants reject govt’s 7.5% offer, to continue with one day strike
Public sector unions say they will go ahead with their planned one day strike on Tuesday.
The labour movements have slammed government's announcement that it had unilaterally increased its wage offer from 3% to 7.5%, calling the statement a blatant lie.
Government has put on the table a 3% baseline increase back dating to April, and an additional R1000 stipend which according to government amounts to 4.5%.
Combined with their current 3% offer it makes final offer 7.5%.
National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) spokesperson Lwazi Nkolonzi says government's statement is misleading.
"The gratuity is not an increment in terms of salary baseline, so the minister must not mislead to say there is a 7.5% increment, so we have rejected that. We are now embarking on a process of staging pickets and demonstrations which will culminate to a national day of action on the 22 of November, fighting against what we deem as an attack on the collective bargaining and the rights of workers."
Department of Public Service and Administration Spokesperson Moses Mushi has urged unions to return to the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC).
"The constitution of the bargaining council has a clause that if there is no finality on the dispute within 30 days then the matter falls off, in that instance the employer can go ahead and implement the offer in the interest of public servants.
"While we appreciate the work that the public servants provide to citizens, we would like to make sure that service delivery continues uninterrupted. If public servants participate in a strike action during working hours the principle of ‘no work no pay’ will apply," says Mushi.
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