South Africa’s Public Service unions say they are preparing for the “the mother of all fights” after the South African (SA) Government reneged on a pay agreement.
A group of Public Servants, including nurses, were to receive salary increases last month (April) as the last leg of a deal struck in 2018.
Under that agreement general workers and support staff would receive an increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus one per cent.
Higher-level Public Servants were to receive an increase of CPI plus 0.5 per cent.
General Secretary of the Federation of Unions of SA (FEDUSA), Riefdah Ajam said his organisation had launched a Labour Court application to force the Government to pay.
However, the biggest Public Service Union, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) said it would not be waiting for a court decision that was likely to be delayed by the COVID-19 crisis.
General Secretary of NEHAWU, Zola Saphetha (pictured) said his members were mobilising in earnest for the “mother of all fights”.
Asked whether the union would defy the Government’s COVID-19 lockdown, Mr Saphetha said the lockdown “will not last forever”.
“When it ends NEHAWU and its members and workers in general will emerge militant, strong, energised and inspired to pick up a real fight with the Government — to render the State system unworkable,” Mr Saphetha said.
“The lack of an increase is an insult to workers and proves that the Government does not value their hard work and resilience while fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
The South African Government’s about-turn on the 2018 agreement came after Minister for Finance, Tito Mboweni announced drastic cuts to the public sector wage bill in his February Budget speech.
Pretoria, 24 April, 2020
