Last-minute talks to avert a strike at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) are unlikely to succeed, a staff representative said on Tuesday.
The Commission Staff Association (CSA) representing the commissioners working at the CCMA said about 300 commissioners are ”90% certain” to strike from Wednesday.
”We are poles apart,” CSA general secretary Lekau Dibakwane said after a round of talks that started at 10am.
”Chances are 90% that we are going on strike.”
CSA members voted last Tuesday to strike for better salaries.
The CCMA has offered a 5% increase, but the CSA has demanded 6%. It also demands that pay be adjusted so that longer-serving commissioners earn the same higher salaries as newly appointed commissioners.
A commissioner at the CCMA earns an entry-level salary of R153 821 a year. An average salary is R205 094.
The CSA says the salaries may look good, but they are still far below market value.
”Being a commissioner is a highly skilled job that takes years of training,” CSA president Thulani Dube said last week.
”We want to ensure that the people who work for the CCMA from 8.30am to 5pm every day get what they deserve.”
Dube said many newly appointed workers at the CCMA are being paid higher salaries than those who are doing the same job and have been there longer.
”It is discrimination. The new people are earning more and we want parity.”
Dube apologised to the public for the strike and asked for its support when pickets are held.
”We apologise to the public, but this is for a good cause,” he said. — Sapa