Government employees who strike on Monday will do so without pay, says Public Servants and Administration Minister Ayanda Dlodlo. The Public Servants Administration (PSA), representing over 240,000 government employees, says its members will go on strike on Monday after rejecting government's latest wage increase deal.
The deal has been signed by some 48 percent of all unions, but the PSA says it is not satisfied, eight months after the start of negotiations.
IOL reported that Dlodlo said the PSA's decision to strike violates bargaining council rules. The PSA served notice of their intention to strike on Monday. She said the "no-work-no-pay" policy will be applied to those who want to join the strike.
In what the PSA has reportedly called a "Day of Rage", the union says its strike will also extend to the South African Social Services Agency (Sassa), according to Fin24. About 5,000 of its members reportedly work at Sassa. Director in charge of collective bargaining at the department Letsatsi Modise told Fin24 that the strike would be unprotected, but PSA general secretary Tahir Maepa reportedly disagreed.
The PSA wants a 12 percent increase for its members, while the employer is offering 7 percent.
PSA general manager Ivan Fredericks reportedly said the PSA had avoided serving notice on Sassa of its intention to strike because it was aware that the strike would have implications for poor and vulnerable people. However, it ultimately did so when several attempts to talk to the minister of social development failed.
Maepa told eNCA that essential services like doctors and nurses will not be impacted by the strike. However, borders, courts and the water and sanitation department will be affected.