Pretoria - Labour unions representing 1.3 million public servants will convene a series of meetings this week as they seek a new mandate to take wage talks forward. Government negotiators have also been ordered by conciliators to consult their principals and return to talks next Monday with their maximum offer.
The public sector wage talks have been held under conciliation for some time now following a breakdown of talks at the beginning of April.
The Independent Labour Caucus (ILC), an umbrella body representing independent unions, said that this week must to be used for realistic reflection.
“We are going to assess among others, are our demands achievable. We have put a 10 percent demand, we have 5.8 percent from the employer’s side. What are the chances that we will meet them?” asked the ILC’s Basil Manuel.
While the unions want a double digit wage hike, the government says it simply cannot afford it.
“The membership may say stick with it, but the realistic picture is that if the state does not come any closer, we need to be reassessing whether we have set the benchmark too high. Not only as far as the cost of living adjustment is concerned, but also with all the other things,” Manuel told Independent Media yesterday.
The unions do not only have to convince the government to up its offer, but they also want an increase for allowances, including 28 percent for medical aid.
The talks have now been in session for seven months. They were meant to conclude on April 1.
In an interview with an SACP online publication, leader of the Cosatu bloc in the bargaining council, Mugwena Maluleke, suggested that the prolonged talks were part of a government strategy to ensure the attention of workers was on monetary figures and not on other benefits.
“The employers are aware that one of the pressure points is that workers will at some point say we want money. They therefore buy time until that point is reached,” said Maluleke.
The next few days will be critical for all parties to get their ducks in a row as the worst case scenario is a strike which will not only impact on a struggling economy, but also bring services to a standstill and see employees not taking home money to their families.
Pretoria News