Strikes of public-service employees will go ahead on Thursday, unions have said.
The unions said nothing new has come out of talks with the minister of public service and administration on Monday.
Twenty separate marches will take place across the country on Thursday, and further action has been proposed for September 20 and 21.
However, the unions said they will continue to engage with Minister of Public Service and Administration Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi in the hopes of finding an amicable settlement.
They suggested looking for a third party to help facilitate negotiations, as attitudes seem to have hardened on both sides.
Cosatu wants strike extended
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has proposed to extend Thursday’s public servants’ strike to include Monday and Tuesday next week, public-sector unions’ chief negotiator Fikile Hugo said on Tuesday.
He told reporters in Centurion after failed negotiations with the state that Cosatu has proposed further strike action and the unions will decide shortly.
Responding to the government saying it will have to raise taxes in order to pay the salaries demanded by unions for public servants, Cosatu president Willie Madisha said this is proof enough that the employer is negotiating in bad faith.
“They are using it as a negotiation tool, the same way they are using children and the exams to whip up emotions to serve their cause,” he said.
The unions have long demanded that they should be involved in the budget allocation and feel that the government has sufficient funds to meet their demands.
Public Servants Association general manager Anton Louwrens said if the government reduces its foreign-aid programme and cuts its defence budget, there will be enough money to go around.
“Do we need that when things in this country are not going well?” he asked, referring to the foreign-aid policy and newly acquired weaponry.
Fraser-Moleketi said earlier in the day that if the demands of the unions are to be met, the government will have to either raise taxes or borrow money — two options the government is not prepared to do.
Police, traffic and prison officials to join strike
Meanwhile, police officers, traffic officials and correctional services officials will join Thursday’s strike by public servants in spite of a warning that as an essential service they are forbidden to do so, a union spokesperson said.
“We have called on our members for maximum participation because they are also adversely affected by the refusal of their employees to give them a reasonable offer,” said Pat Ntsobi, spokesperson for the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru).
Ntsobi said that although the Labour Relations Act defines the police as an “essential service”, the authorities are yet to sign into effect the Minimum Service Levels Agreement, which specifies which jobs are regarded as an essential service.
“A civilian working at a police station is not an essential service,” he explained.
However, at present it is assumed that everybody in the police, correctional services and traffic departments is an essential service.
The signing of the Minimum Service Levels Agreement was one of the points Popcru wanted on the agenda in the continuing negotiations.
North West safety and liaison minister Maureen Modiselle called on the police not to strike, as it would dent the public’s confidence in the police.
“If under the same circumstance police members are also a part of the strike/march, who then has the responsibility to ensure and monitor the strike/march and provide safety, not only of the strikers marching, but of citizens in general?” Modiselle asked. — Sapa
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