Samwu prepares for wage talks

21/04/2010. SAMWU members overturn rubbish bins in the middle of the street during their protest march.Picture: Masi Losi

21/04/2010. SAMWU members overturn rubbish bins in the middle of the street during their protest march.Picture: Masi Losi

Published Feb 3, 2012

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SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) is preparing for another round of wage negotiations with the SA Local Government Association (Salga), the union said on Thursday.

“We had to call off our strike last year as we could not force Salga to accept our demands of 10 percent,” Samwu spokesman Tahir Sema said in a statement.

“This meant that although Salga unilaterally implemented their offer of 6.08 percent, the dispute was never settled.”

Sema said no agreement was signed between the union and Salga last year and the three-year wage agreement concluded in 2008 had expired.

Inflation continued to “bite” workers who were already struggling to survive, said Sema.

Salga was not immediately available for comment.

In August, Samwu called off a two-week-long national strike.

At the time it said its members were starting to experience “intimidation” in the form of court interdicts and dismissal threats.

The union said employers had failed to justify the 6.08 percent offer for Samwu members while proposing a seven percent increase for councillors. - Sapa

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