Over 200k Civil Servants to Strike Over Salary Disputes, Mzansi Divided By Pending Protest Action

• The Public Servants Association (PSA) is preparing to strike after rejecting government’s proposed 3% wage increase
• The union believes that the pending “massive strike action” will prompt the government to reconsider its position
• The PSA said it had met with government representatives and concluded draft picketing rules for the planned protest

PRETORIA - The Public Servants Association (PSA) is preparing to strike in the coming days following its rejection of the government’s proposed 3% wage increase. A meeting was held on Tuesday, 11 October, to determine the possible protest action rules.

The union which has 235 000 members released a statement saying the PSA requested a mandate from its members to accept or reject the offer. PSA said the government indicated that the offer is now “off the table” and that it will not re-open negotiations on the current offer.

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In the statement, the union said the pending “massive strike action” would prompt the government to reconsider its position, according to News24. However, PSA also said it was still open to reconsidering revised offers from the government.

The PSA said it had met with government representatives and concluded draft picketing rules ahead of its planned protest action.

Union spokesperson Reuben Melaka said the commissioner would finalise the rules by Monday, 17 October. He said the union would then be able to give the government a notice of seven days before the strike.

EWN reported that Melaka said the first part would be picketing for seven days, and then the union would go on a “full-blown strike” after seven days.

Citizens react to the proposed strike:

Yadhna Singh said:

“If useless ministers and Eskom employees can get an increase then so can public servants...how quickly we forget those Frontline workers who risked their lives during the pandemic.”

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Lyle Eagleson commented:

“If they go on strike would we even notice?”

Bernice Venter posted:

“Fire the whole lot and get people in who want to work.”

Johann Terblanche wrote:

“Viva, comrades, viva.”

Lee Nkosinathi stated:

“Let’s go guys and we must make sure the 2024 election they suffer.”

Tony Snyman added:

“Will anyone even notice?”

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

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported the Public Servants Association (PSA) believes that the government’s latest wage offer and continuation of the R1000 cash gratuity are unsuitable for current economic conditions.

The government’s proposed 3% salary increase for public service employees, implementable from April 2022 with the cash gratuity due to stop at the end of March, was rejected by PSA.

PSA Spokesperson Reuben Maleka told SABC News that the association understood that affordability does not stop at a particular point because the employer wants to stop the gratuity next March.

Source: Briefly News