Sadtu Inclined to Accept 3% Wage Increase Offered by Government, Public Servants Reject Offer

• SA teachers' union has indicated that it is willing to accept the government's offer of a 3% wage increase for public servants
• Sadtu's move will go against other public servant organisations that have rejected the wage increase
• The Public Servants Association said it wants a clause added to the agreement that will protect the R1000 allowance public servants receive

JOHANNESBURG - The South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) has shown willingness to accept the government's amended 3% salary offer for over 1.3 million South African public servants.

The labour union is expected to announce its decision on Thursday, 6 October, following the conclusion of its national council meeting. However, another public servant organisation has rejected the offer. The Public Servants Association (PSA) claims it wants the R1000 cash gratuity to continue.

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PSA spokesperson Claude Naicker claims an end to the allowance would spell disaster for public servants as it will put them in a situation worse than before negotiations began. Naicker called for the inclusion of a clause in the current agreement that will protect the cash allowance from being discontinued, SABC News reports.

The inclusion of the clause may be unlikely as the government insists it cannot afford to pay its workers. Furthermore, the government claims the unbudgeted wage demand might cost the fiscus over R60 billion in the 2022/2023 financial year.

According to News24, the salary of the government's 1.3 million employees amounts to over a third of total government spending. However, the National Treasury has endeavoured to keep government expenditure under control to reign in runaway state debt and keep the budget deficit in check.

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South Africans react to Sadtu's plans to accept the 3% wage increase

South Africans think the teachers union is selling out by its willingness to accept the wage increase.

Here are some comments:

@MoneriLethwane said:

"We are not surprised at all @SadtuNational sellouts."

@Nicky20293467 commented:

"Would have liked to see the severance package as part of the deal."

@Mbatha_Dumi claimed:

"Sadtu is selling out now"

@tebogomosiane asked:

"Do they know the implications of getting a below-CPI increment? By the way, they're teachers, they do know"

@Thulaganyo_G speculated:

"SADTU leaders got brown envelopes from the Phalaphala mattress."

@Bananas_Hope predicted:

"Sellout NEHAWU will follow."

UK rail workers stage the latest strike over pay

Briefly News previously reported that train travel in Britain was disrupted on Wednesday by the latest in a string of strikes by railway workers over wages.

Picket lines appeared at stations including London's Kings Cross and Euston as workers from the Aslef and TSSA trade unions, and thousands of drivers walked out.

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Public Servants Association rejects 3% wage increase, SA says the offer is an insult

The strike affected around a dozen rail companies. Railway workers are demanding wage increases to keep pace with decades-high inflation amid a cost-of-living crisis.

Source: Briefly News