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Public servants urged to hold off strike
Article by BuaNews
Public servants urged to hold off strike Pretoria – Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi has called on the Public Servants Association (PSA) to put on hold planned strike action by its members on Thursday. In a letter written to the PSA leadership, the minister indicated that he had arranged a forum for engagement between himself and the leaders of the unions on Thursday. He wanted the union to postpone its intended industrial action until the meeting had taken place.
Government’s new wage offer, the details of which have not yet been released, is also expected to be tabled before the Public Service Coordinating and Bargaining Council (PSCBC) on this day.
Government has so far only received a notice of intention to strike from the PSA. “We have not received any notification of strike from Cosatu, we are still engaged in negotiations with the union representatives,” said Public Service and Administration spokesperson Dumisani Nkwamba.
Last week the PSA, which represents around 200 000 public servants, issued a statement saying its members would be going on strike on Thursday if government did not increase its wage offer.
The protracted wage negotiations began when government’s initial offer of a 6.5 percent wage increase across the board and an increase in the housing allowance from R500 to R620 was rejected by all public sector unions in June.
Unions adjusted their initial demand of an 11 percent general salary increase to 8.6 percent and additional R1000 for a monthly housing allowance, as opposed to their first offer of R1 650.
At the time, unions and government agreed to put the strike by public servants on hold until the end of the World Cup.
Article Tags: Strike
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Reader's Comments
Posted by DD - 11:50 on 03 August 2010
I wish I can know how much allowance on Housing for the MInister of DPSA. Can he afford paying his bond on R630, does he think ok or he thinks that this is swimming pool. This is our tax, we derserve our money as much as they do in their position...Maybe if we can all be appointed political, then we can have the same benefit as u Ministers...
Posted by yebo yes - 08:17 on 30 July 2010
The improved offer is R10.00 what a joke. I want to check the ministers references in his CV.
Posted by tshatsha - 13:48 on 29 July 2010
I just do not understand the rationale behind such a delay , 'waiting for teachers to plan for industrial action before you call their leaders to a meeting' Is that what you are employed to do? Isn't that what we can call 'public servants abuse'?You must be volunteering to join the suspended officials because you didn't do your job and we need to give those who want to do the job,& who want to do it properly. We do not have a place for people who are there to play with our scarce resources 'human resources'. Is that a reason why the E.C. schools do not have libraries and laboratories, you (the dept are waiting for the teachers to call for strike action and try to stop them on the eve of the strike.Teachers do not want to go on strike you always force them to do so by delaying the process intentionally building bad relations within the dept of education. IYINDLALO NJE KUWE, KUKUFA KOOTITSHALA NAKWISIZWE JIKELELE!!! WE WANT THOSE WHO PUT LEARNERS AND THE NATION FIRST IN SUCH CRUCIAL POST, NOT THOSE WHO ARE THERE TO DO AS THEY WISH. AZINATYALA II-UNIONS qha nina nizimisele ukudlala iidirty mind games! Wait for the unionists (cutting edge) in your office and you will get your fat salary at the end of the month as you will be the one who have worked & worked hard more than anyone else & the teachers will get NO PAY if they go on strike & by that you will have achieved your goal.
Posted by worker - 12:57 on 28 July 2010
I think we as public servants need a drink.Hope the airports don't function including immigration and home affairs.We will strike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Customer Care
From last year there was an agreement between the repesentatives of the state and the unions for a certain % INCREASE FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS. Then the ? is why was this not budgeted for by the Mr. of Finace in February or why was was it agreed to during the negotiations ( the state does not have money)then. SA africa is facing a situation where people who make mistakes are not accounting for such!! This is just plain incompetancy. This is basic acounting process called Budgeting.