Civil servants gear up for massive strike as wage impasse drags on
The sector is locked in a bitter dispute over wage increases.
JOHANNESBURG - The public service sector is gearing up for a massive strike this week as the wage impasse with government drags on.
The sector is locked in a bitter dispute over wage increases.
The Public Servants Association (PSA) wants a 6.5% increase, while the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) affiliates want a whopping 10% increase.
The PSA said it will continue to stage lunchtime pickets this week in the build up to a wide-scale strike.
Pickets are expected to take place at several health facilities in Bloemfontein, at the Wynberg Magistrates Court in Cape Town, as well as the Johannesburg prison.
These pickets will culminate in a march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Thursday.
Government and the public sector unions have again failed to find common ground, leading to another collapse in negotiations.
Government refuses to budge from its offer of 3%.
PSA spokesperson Claude Naicker has hit out at government: “There is no movement from the employer to try and resolve the impasse.”
This will be the first national strike by the Public Servants Association in a decade.
While the PSA has mapped out its plan of action, public service unions affiliated to Cosatu are yet to meet to decide on the way forward.
