Security guards will be urged to accept a revised offer made by their employers after marathon talks, the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) said on Friday.
”We are going to report back to our members in a positive light,” Satawu general secretary Randall Howard said after the two-day discussions, which ended at 6am on Friday.
”I’m not at liberty to let you know what the agreement was. Members must hear it from us first to avoid confusion in the public arena,” he told a press conference at Satawu headquarters in Johannesburg.
However, it is understood that the offer could be in the region of 9,5%, but Howard refused to comment. Satawu and the Transport and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (Tawusa) have held out for an 11% increase after the other 14 unions in the sector agreed to an average 8,3% increase over the next three years.
Howard said the revised offer was also a three-year deal.
If accepted, it would not be back-dated, but commence from the moment it was signed.
The wage negotiations, described as ”a marathon session”, were held under the auspices of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
”All parties met yesterday [Thursday] afternoon and negotiated through the night into the early hours of this morning,” the CCMA said in a statement.
”Despite being exhausted, all parties are positive about the process. Parties will continue discussions over the weekend and will be back at the negotiation table on Monday 12 June … ,” it said.
Howard said the urgency for a solution was an important factor in the latest talks.
”The difference [from previous negotiations] was that there was a crisis and everybody had to take responsibility to resolve that crisis,” he said.
The South African National Security Employers’ Association could not immediately be reached for comment.
Satawu and Tawusa have been given until 10am on Monday to consult with their members on the revised offer before reporting back to employers.
Guards resorted to industrial action over wages in March, but the strike has been marred by violence and attacks on non-striking workers.
Most recently, 200 men — believed to be striking guards — looted a Durban supermarket on Thursday.
In Springs, the body of murdered security guard Godfrey Mabuza (40) was found at the New Era railway station on Wednesday night.
Three security guards were found in the veld in Vlakfontein near Tsakane on Wednesday. They had all been shot in the head and their hands bound with handcuffs and electric wires. — Sapa