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BL Premium reports that various trade unions representing public servants including nurses, doctors and police officers will hold mass picket demonstrations across the country on Monday as they push for bigger wage hikes.
In a joint statement, the unions, which included Nehawu, Popcru, the SA Policing Union and others, said the demonstrations would be taking place as a result of the collapsed public service wage negotiations. Also on Monday, there will be a conciliation hearing at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council. Unions demanded a 10% rise when negotiations began in May but went down to 6.5%. Last week, acting public service & administration minister Thulas Nxesi pushed through a 3% wage deal, inclusive of a R1,000 monthly gratuity until the end of March next year. He cited section 5 of the Public Service Act which empowers the minister to unilaterally implement the state’s final offer on condition that any such offer does not reduce existing pay or other service benefits. “The decision of the minister of public service and administration together with his finance counterpart to implement the offer rejected by workers doesn’t in any way resolve the dispute, hence we [are] proceeding with the conciliation. As trade unions, we have joined hands to fight back [against] the attitude and the neoliberal policies of the employer that have introduced austerity measures which are directed at public servants and the working class,” the unions stated.
- Read the original of the report in the above regard by Bekezela Phakathi at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page