AS WAGE negotiations between public sector unions and the government continue, unions have issued a warning that they are prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure they get salary increases.
Labour federation Cosatu said workers were extremely angry over the government’s attitude towards workers’ demands, labelling it as undermining organised labour.
Cosatu KZN secretary Edwin Mkhize said the recent decision by the government to backtrack over the 2018 wage agreement had left a bitter taste among public servants.
The government backtracked on an agreement to raise pay for about 1.3 million employees in 2020, the final year of the three-year wage deal.
“We are approaching these negotiations with workers that are really angry at the decision to freeze salary increases after this had been agreed upon. This was a total undermining of collective bargaining by the government,” said Mkhize.
He said the rise in living costs placed a huge strain on the workers, who were already battling to make ends meet.
“We are not going to back off and given the current attitude of the employer and the offer on the table there is every likelihood that we will take to the streets if the demands for a better offer are not met.”
What had further agitated the public servants, Mkhize continued, had been the pay increase for judges.
“We are talking about people who are already earning quite well when compared to ordinary workers that you find in the public service and the employer does not see it fit to pay the lowest-earning public servants what will enable them to live; this is not right,” Mkhize stressed.
According to Cosatu, workers are on the back foot and had to constantly service debts because of the rise in the cost of living. “There is a perception that the government does not take unions seriously and this why these negotiations are crucial,” said Mkhize.
The Federation of Unions of SA’s chief negotiator, Gregory Masondo, said they were waiting to see what the government would offer when they return to the bargaining chamber at the end of the month.He stressed that workers were justifiably angry at the government’s attitude.
“Workers have seen what the CEO of Eskom is earning despite the fact that we have constant power outages, they have read what other executives from state-owned entities are taking home and are wondering why they are unable to get increases.”
He noted that in most instances general workers were looking after large families owing to high unemployment and battling to make ends meet.
He warned of the risks that would come about with strike action, pointing out that organised labour had public servants varying from teachers, police and nurses, and said any action would cripple service delivery.
Department of Public Service and Administration spokesperson Moses Mushi said negotiations were continuing and it was improper to comment.All eyes will now be on the outcome of the meeting when the government meets with organised labour next week.
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