‘Politicians are having free ride on increases’: Public service unions to go on strike over wage offer

Public servants are set to go on a national strike following a deadlock in wage negotiations with government.

Public sector unions have rejected government’s final 3% wage hike after negotiations began in May this year.

Wage offer

Government had proposed that employees continue to be paid a non-pensionable cash gratuity, which amounts to an average of R1 000 after tax to all employees across salary levels 1 to 12.

This amounts to an average of 4.5% of the R20.5 billon allocated for salaries in the 2022/23 compensation budget.

Some unions – including the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) – resolved to accept government’s 3% wage offer.

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While government insists that it has been negotiating in good faith, other unions affiliated to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) have argued that wage offer does not address realities such as increased interest rates and steep increases in cost-of-living expenses.

The unions including the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu), the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) and the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South African (Denosa) have since declared a dispute at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC).

They have now went back to their original demand of a 10% wage increase.

When negotiations began, the organisations put the 10% proposal on the table, but later went down to 6.5%.

Draft resolution

Reading out a joint statement during a media briefing on Monday, Denosa president Simon Hlungwani said there was no offer on the table, claiming that the 3% proposal was withdrawn on 3 October.

“With the offer now being withdrawn, we have now gone back to our initial demand of 10% across the board on the costs of living adjustment and we also invoked the PSCBC dispute resolution mechanism,” Hlungwani said.

On 17 October, the Department of Public Service and Administration, however, refuted reports that it had withdrawn the wage offer it tabled at the PSCBC.

READ MORE: PSA members voting on strike action after failed wage negotiations

The department’s Director-General, Yoliswa Makhasi provided clarity on the matter, saying government was still open for the unions to consider accepting the offer.

“What has happened is in line with what we call, by operation of law/provisions of the PSCBC constitution, Section 17.10 (b), which states that ‘if there is no majority support at the council within 21 days, the draft resolution falls away’,” Makhasi said in a statement.

‘Undermining collective bargaining’

Meanwhile, the unions also criticised government after it emerged that the 3% wage hike may be unilaterally imposed.

In a letter dated 17 October, Acting Public Service minister Thulas Nxesi informed PSCBC general-secretary Frikkie de Bruin that he was considering implementing the 3% wage hike in line with the Public Service Act before Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tables his medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) in Parliament on Wednesday.

Section 5 of the Act allows government to enforce salary increases unilaterally, as long as doing so does not reduce wages and benefits.

“It is now public knowledge, based on the leaked letter written to the general-secretary of the PSCBC and the special council meeting held on 19 October, that the employer is intending to unilaterally impose the very same offer that was withdrawn in council.

“It is very deceitful for the employer to present a narrative in the public that seeks to vilify the mandate of the workers,” Hlungwani continued.

Watch the briefing below:

He also pointed out that government’s tendencies of undermining collective bargaining have already been witnessed after it refused to implement the last leg of a three-year pay deal signed in the PSCBC in 2018.

The matter had ultimately ended up in the Constitutional Court (ConCourt), which ruled public servants would not get increases as the previous wage agreement was unlawful.

“Workers cannot no longer tolerate this unbecoming behaviour of the employers [of] undermining social dialogue,” Hlungwani said.

‘Free ride’

Hlungwani also said it was “very disappointing” how government was treating public servants while it expects the workers to give their utmost best.

“It is very disappointing for the employer, who has openly declared to have a wage freeze for public servants in the name of fiscal consolidation while the high earning parliamentarians and politicians are having free ride on increases.

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“We have also note the employer’s tendencies of negotiating through the media including the attempt to drive the propaganda of an offer of cash allowance that is said to be 4.5%.

“The so-called 4.5% is not a real increase as it does not have any effect of the baseline and is serving the employer massively [because] workers are not getting an increase on their pension in terms of that offer,” he said.

Hlungwani further indicated that its dispute is set for conciliation at the PSCBC’s offices on 31 October and 1 November, adding that the unions would engage in strike action.

CCMA asked to intervene

Government has since asked the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to intervene urgently in the deadlocked wage talks.

According to News24, Makhasi wrote to CCMA director Cameron Morajane on 21 October, saying that the department needed to conclude a deal to contain unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditures in terms of Section 30 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) ahead of Godongwana tabling the MTBPS.

The Public Servants Association (PSA) has since served government with a a seven-day strike notice on Monday.

The PSA, which has 235 000 members, has confirmed that its members would stage nationwide demonstrations from next week Thursday.

Brace your esteemed selves bazalwane. Public servants are going on strike from next Thursday. pic.twitter.com/IRC8DAsUA9

— Communist idea (@LoyisoSidimba) October 24, 2022

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