Union leaders sought to draw other sectors into their wage dispute with the government on Friday as thousands of public servants countrywide downed tools.
The first day of what the unions said would be an indefinite strike passed without major incident and had a patchy effect on service delivery.
It also brought the news that the government and unions will resume negotiations at 11am on Monday in a meeting where it is expected that the government will officially table an improvement on its offer of a 6% wage hike.
Addressing thousands of workers who marched through the Johannesburg city centre, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Willie Madisha vowed that workers would not end the strike until they got the 12% increase they were demanding.
He called on metal workers, mine workers and transport workers to strike in solidarity with the public servants.
And in a statement issued from its Cape Town head office, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union said it had called on all its members ”to join the public-sector worker demonstrations across the country today [Friday]”.
Cosatu also urged members of the public to join in protests in order to put more pressure on the government.
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ union (Nehawu) claimed that most hospitals in the country ground to a halt as the strike got under way.
However, management at Cape Town’s two major hospitals, Groote Schuur and Tygerberg, said they were in business, albeit at reduced staffing levels and with cutbacks in non-essential services.
There was a similar story at Johannesburg hospitals, where staff were turning away non-emergency services, while at Pretoria Academic Hospital, despite a small but vocal group of protesters, it also appeared it was business as usual.
The hospital stayaways took place despite an interdict obtained by Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi on Thursday night preventing essential workers — who include nurses — from striking.
Her spokesperson warned that these workers were liable to be disciplined if they joined the strike.
‘Hoot if you support our strike’
Unions claimed to have completely shut down all schools in George in the Southern Cape, while in other centres the effect of the strike varied.
Outside the Jeppe Preparatory School in Johannesburg, a group of teachers picketed on the street.
Chanting and dancing, the teachers carried placards that read: ”Hoot if you support our strike.”
Also affected by the strike were a number of national and provincial government departments, and some courts.
The Johannesburg office of the department of home affairs was operating at reduced staff levels.
A staffer who wanted to remain anonymous said: ”I am alone on the counter and it’s one of the busiest counters in the Gauteng province.”
The Airports Company South Africa said operations at the country’s three main international airports were running smoothly despite a no-show by a number of immigration officers, who are also home affairs employees.
In KwaZulu-Natal Nehawu claimed that ”about 90% to 100%” of government institutions had been closed down.
The only reported strike-related violent incident on Friday was when police tossed stun grenades at about 500 strikers blocking the entrance to Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town.
Police said no one was injured, though Nehawu disputed this.
Some police also participated in the strike through work-to-rule action.
Members of the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) were carrying out only the job description they were hired to do, and no more, said Popcru spokesperson Pat Ntsobi.
The police and prisons sectors are also defined as essential services and are prohibited from striking.
The South African Council of Churches came out in support of the public-service strike on Friday, saying it was time the demands of the poor were met.
”In a country where the rich continue to get richer and the poor get poorer, it is befitting that the lowly placed and those who earn little are listened to,” the council said in a statement.
‘Intimidation and obstruction’
Meanwhile, the government has continued to function despite the strike, said Fraser-Moleketi on Friday.
Speaking at a press conference in Pretoria, she said most national and provincial departments functioned ”normally or close to normally”.
She said the exceptions were disruptions in the education and health sectors.
”We are disappointed that in some instances there was intimidation and obstruction.”
Fraser-Moleketi said the major disruptions in the health sector were in the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
She said the disruptions were caused mostly by the absence of support staff such as cleaning, catering and clerical services.
”… I must repeat we will not tolerate intimidation of those who chose not to strike, nor will we tolerate any disruption of essential services, or abuse of members of the public.”
She repeated her mantra that the wage negotiation was not simply about percentages and an annual increase, but was about a complete package.
”I urge workers to return to work so that they will not lose more pay and allow us to continue negotiations, which I am hopeful we will conclude in the coming two days.” — Sapa