In an unprecedented move, all the public-service sector unions will take joint labour action to force the government to improve a wage-increase offer.
Following a meeting on Friday, all 19 unions, including Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and independent labour-caucus unions, decided on joint labour action.
Cosatu president Willie Madisha said all the unions would start an indefinite strike on June 1.
Together they represent more than a million public-service workers.
Madisha said action would start on May 25 with marches in all provinces.
From May 28 to 31 there would be a programme of action to build up to the strike.
”For the first in the history of the public service the workers are coming together in unison to push forward,” Madisha said.
He said the agreement on the June 1 start date for strike action was a sign that the unions would move together.
”We are all convinced this action is right,” Madisha said.
He dismissed as ”demeaning” statements by Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi that unions did not understand the government’s offer.
”It in infers that the leaders of the unions all together here do not understand what the workers want. It further says that workers going on strike don’t understand what they want,” said Madisha.
He said the unions were still prepared to return to the negotiations should the government ”significantly” improve its offer.
The government is offering a 6% wage increase while unions are demanding 12%.
On Monday unions will discuss essential-service workers and whether they will take part in the strike.
Meanwhile, the South African Chamber of Business (Sacob) on Friday warned the action would have ”serious economic consequences”.
”Should recourse to strike action be taken, Sacob would hope that every effort will be taken to ensure that violence will be avoided,” the chamber said in a statement.
”Sacob trusts that reason will prevail and that a settlement can be reached before industrial action is embarked upon.”
‘More than 6%’
On Thursday, Fraser-Moleketi said that the wage offer by the government does amount to 12%.
”Unpacking the government’s offer” for the media in Pretoria, Fraser-Moleketi said that while the government is offering a 6% wage increase, the total offer amounts to much more.
”The overall package amounts to much more than 6% and hence employees going out on strike over 6% go out with insufficient information,” she said.
The total expenditure, which includes the wage increase, implementation of outstanding offers, sectoral agreements and increase in staff, is set to grow by 12%.
Fraser-Moleketi said the government’s offer includes a multi-term wage agreement, implementation of occupation-specific dispensations that will affect up to 80% of public servants, revisions of certain allowances by 25% and improvements on the government medical subsidy.
She maintained that the offer is misunderstood and that unions have not taken the opportunity the government gave to explain the offer.
”Clearly there is a need to unpack it in order that there is clarity on what the implications are,” she said. — Sapa