Talks between South African public sector unions and the Government are deadlocked, with workers saying they are ready to embark on a nationwide strike.
During marathon negotiations, the Public Servants Association (PSA), one of the largest parties at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council, tabled a wage demand of more than seven per cent, which the Government rejected as unaffordable.
The Government did not offer any increase, but said it was willing to keep talking.
Earlier, Minister for Public Service and Public Administration, Senzo Mchunu described this year’s wage talks as the most difficult the country had ever faced.
The bad state of the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for drastic changes in the Public Service, were some of the reasons Mr Mchunu listed that had made the 2021 talks the most difficult.
The Treasury aims to cut about R300 billion ($A27 billion) from the public wage bill in the next three years as it becomes ever more apparent that the Government cannot afford to meet even current demands.
However, trade unions are equally under pressure to appease their members who have gone without a wage adjustment for a year.
Workers are already restless over the Government’s decision not to pay the third leg of an already agreed 2018 wage deal.
However, a statement from the Treasury pointed out that Public Servants’ salaries had more than tripled since 2006.
Pretoria, 26 April 2021
