The South African Trade and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) will launch another national strike next week after a wage dispute involving the contract cleaning sector, the union said on Wednesday.
The union is demanding that workers be given a 12% increment, and 15 % for those working in rural areas, said spokesperson Dolly Mlotshwa.
”This means they will get an increment of R88,30,” said Mlotshwa.
The increment would drive the minimum salaries from R594 and R745 to R682 and R833 respectively.
Employers are only willing to increase salaries by 6%.
”We also demand that the annual bonuses be based on the equivalent of one month’s pay, as the sectoral determination indicates,” said Mlotshwa.
In February, Satawu and 15 other unions initiated wage talks with the Black Empowerment Cleaning Association and the National Contract Cleaning Association aimed at improving conditions in the contract-cleaning sector.
”The conditions that Satawu and the other unions found unacceptable were primarily the pitiful remuneration that members of the sector received.
”After four months of talks we failed to reach an agreement and efforts at mediation have also been unsuccessful”.
In Johannesburg Satawu will meet at the Library Gardens next Tuesday and Wednesday for a build-up to the strike.
”We will then go on the national strike on August 3,” said Mlotshwa.
Satawu will be meeting employers on Friday but does not think anything positive will come of it.
KwaZulu-Natal will not be affected by the strike as the area is not part of the wage negotiations. — Sapa