Howard Barrell
When hundreds of thousands of civil servants join marches and work stoppages next Tuesday, the country could witness the broadest coalition of labour traditions ever to combine in an industrial dispute on South African soil.
Public servants of all races, language groups and political persuasions are expected to be involved in the protests, which will culminate in a march on the Union Buildings in Pretoria to hand over a memorandum to President Thabo Mbeki from the 12 unions leading the action.
Anton Louwrens, head of the Public Servants’ Association (PSA), which has 190 000 members, called the unity in action that had been achieved between different sections of the labour movement “historic”.
Observers say the unity achieved between unions in the dispute indicates the remarkable extent to which the racial and political cleavages that have divided workers and other employees in South Africa for most of this century have broken down since the days of apartheid. “In some respects, it is the first `class action’ the country has seen,” said one.
The two union groupings at the centre of the industrial dispute, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa), represent different union traditions.
Cosatu unions are unashamedly political, project a socialist message, have overwhelmingly black memberships and often resort to strike action. Fedusa unions are determinedly apolitical, in some instances have significant white memberships and are tactically cautious.
Cosatu has about 1,7-million members and Fedusa 555 000. The 12 unions involved in the public sector pay dispute with the government represent between 800 000 and one million workers.
They have revised their wage claim downwards to a 7,3% increase for all public servants, with an additional 1% for teachers. The government’s final offer, which ministers have said both publicly and privately they are now implementing and will not increase, is 6,3% with an extra 1% for teachers.
Senior state officials say they believe the public will not understand or sympathise with civil servants if they eventually go on strike over what amounts to a 1% difference between their demand and the government’s offer. But the 12 unions say they are encountering growing public support.
Louwrens said it was “all systems go” for Tuesday’s protest actions. There had been full liaison with police and municipal authorities to ensure the marches were orderly. PSA members who stop work for Tuesday’s protests will ensure that essential services are maintained by others.
Leaders of the Prison Officers and Police Civil Rights Union, a Cosatu affiliate, said their members are willing to strike in the dispute, prompting warnings from senior police officers to them not to do so.
Louwrens and other union leaders said it would be difficult now to call off Tuesday’s protests. But they were still hopeful that Mbeki would meet with the 12 unions’ action committee and intervene on the wage issue.
If Mbeki does not intervene or the government does not soften its position, leaders of the 12 unions will meet on August 27 to plan further action.
Louwrens said he expected that consulting union members and deciding on further action would then take about a month in the case of Fedusa. Cosatu’s processes are likely to be quicker.
Another senior Fedusa leader said that although his members tended to be more cautious than their Cosatu counterparts, the depth of their anger and willingness to take strong action over wages in the civil service should not be underestimated.
“The government should not think they can divide our members and Cosatu members in this wage dispute,” he said. “We are a lot more sophisticated than we used to be and we will recognise any attempt like that immediately.”