A ”standstill” can be expected in South Africa if the government does not act on public-service workers’ demands, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Willie Madisha told thousands of marchers in Cape Town.
Speaking outside Parliament, Madisha called on the government to go back to the negotiating table to ”negotiate seriously and properly”.
”We have served notice and we demand movement — if not you can expect this country to come to a standstill,” he said.
Thousands of public-service workers took to South Africa’s streets on Friday in mass marches for better pay and working conditions.
For the first time in history, all South African public-service workers were united, including those from the independent unions.
”The workers are saying enough is enough, we are tired, we are here to declare war against exploitation and unless government moves by June 1 there is going to be a very serious problem,” Madisha said.
Director general of the Western Cape provincial administration Gilbert Lawrence accepted a memorandum from marchers at Parliament in Cape Town.
He also undertook to hand the memorandum over to Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi and to the relevant departments.
Fraser-Moleketi was not available to accept the memorandum at Parliament, as she was accepting a similar memorandum from marchers at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
Lawrence confirmed Fraser-Moleketi’s offer to hold a special Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council meeting with unions on Monday and Tuesday.
The marchers included members of Cosatu affiliates and non-aligned unions.
Unions have warned that the marches were a forerunner of a full-blown strike to start next Friday by more than one million civil servants.
Salary talks between the state and public-service trade unions deadlocked earlier in the month, with the employer refusing to up its pay offer of 6%.
A last-ditch attempt to resolve the matter will take place at the special meeting next week.
The public-service workers’ march through Cape Town went off peacefully and no incidents of violence or disruption were reported, police said.
Police spokesperson Randall Stoffels said the exact number of police deployed and further details of their operation during the march would be kept private.
Pietermaritzburg
Meanwhile, employees at government departments in Pietermaritzburg were seen leaving their posts to join nearly 14 000 public-service workers marching through the city.
Thousands of people lined the streets, and hung out of windows and balconies to watch the procession snaking its way to the KwaZulu-Natal legislature.
Police in riot gear, wielding shields and batons, held vigil outside the legislature as the marchers approached.
Police reported no incidents of violence or damage.
However, one woman reportedly fainted and was treated by paramedics.
The trademark song, Umshini Wami of African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma, was sung several times.
Businesses were still open in the city centre.
The marchers were expected during the course of the day to march through the Pietermaritzburg city centre to the KwaZulu-Natal legislature and hand over a memorandum to premier S’bu Ndebele.
Pretoria
The ranks of protesting public-service sector union members had swelled to tens of thousands by the time they reached the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Friday.
The first of the marchers arrived at the Union Buildings shortly before 1pm, with the rest trailing several city blocks back down Vermeulen Street.
Public sector unions handed over a memorandum to Fraser-Moleketi.
In handing over the memorandum, Cosatu’s general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the government could still stop the planned strike on June 1 if it came up with a decent wage offer during negotiations planned for next week.
The unions would not budge on their 12% wage hike demands, Vavi said. — Sapa