Public Sector Unions to announce their plan over wage dispute

Public Sector Unions will on Friday announce how they plan to tackle their wage dispute with government.

Government is still refusing to increase salaries of the country’s almost one and a half million civil servants this year in line with the three year public sector wage agreement signed in 2018.

The matter came up for discussion between President Cyril Ramaphosa and the trade union National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) last week.

In the video below, Nehawu members vow not to leave until President Ramaphosa addressed them:

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At the meeting, the President and Nehawu agreed to hold talks to resolve the impasse.

Nehawu deputy general secretary December Mavuso says, “He suggested that an urgent meeting of high level government leaders with Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) unions and those outside of Cosatu be convened to have robust discussion towards finding solutions in the interest of workers, the public service, the nation and the economy at large.”

Nehawu warns it could withdraw support for the ANC

In recent weeks, Nehawu warned that it could withdraw its electoral support for the ANC in the 2021 local government elections.

This is if the governing party fails to honour the last leg of a three-year wage agreement.

The labour union is also threatening to embark on a “full-blown” four-day strike if the government does not adhere to its demands for better working conditions for front-line health workers.

In the video below, Nehawu explains its intentions:

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Source: SABC News (sabcnews.com)