Parliament – A showdown is looming should Parliament and its workers not resolve an impasse on salary negotiations.
Workers sang and danced in the parliamentary precinct on Monday afternoon, minutes before Speaker Baleka Mbete, her deputy Lechesa Tsenoli and Secretary to Parliament Gengezi Mgidlana briefed journalists on the national legislature's R2.2 billion budget to be tabled on Tuesday.
"We have been negotiating since April and Nehawu tabled a demand of 10.4%. Since then Parliament has offered us zero," said Temba Gubula, parliamentary branch secretary of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu).
"We are pinning our hopes on the presiding officers [Speaker and Deputy Speaker] to intervene."
Mgidlana indicated that negotiations with Nehawu were still open and that various options were being looked at.
He dismissed claims by staffers that retrenchments and a zero percent salary increase were the only options being looked at.
"In most, if not all state institutions, we have had cuts and Parliament was also affected...and part of the cuts of course would have affected the compensation of employees. We have in this regard shared this information throughout the years with staff, with labour...," said Mgidlanda.
"We are currently engaged in negotiations with labour to look at ways and means to find a solution. We are not yet there in terms of finding any solutions."
Mbete also weighed in, saying she was hopeful staff would not have to settle for no salary hikes.
"It would not be our wish not to have any increases of salaries of staff," she said. Nehawu has not ruled out the possibility of industrial action, should a settlement not be found.