Trade unions in the public sector warned of the "mother of all strikes" as they met the government in another round of wage negotiations yesterday.
The government was expected to table a new offer following months of deadlocked talks. The two have been at loggerheads since the state tabled a 0% salary hike offer.
Mugwena Maluleka, secretary-general of the Cosatu-affiliated South African Democratic Teachers Union and chief negotiator, said the Covid-19 pandemic will not stop unions from taking to the streets.
"Our warning from Sadtu is that the government must take the public servants very seriously. They are the ones driving government machinery, the ones in the frontlines. They've put their lives at stake to protect the nation. They continue to do so with diligence. If the government is going to take advantage of that we might find this country being plunged into the mother of all strikes in a pandemic era . an indictment of the government, which is supposed to listen to the people and not ratings agencies," Maluleka said.
The Public Service Association (PSA) outlined the next steps.
"We are waiting for the bargaining council to table the matter for consideration, which they have got 30 days to do so since we lodged the dispute in May," said PSA assistant GM Reuben Maleka. "We will get a certificate of non-resolution on the matter, then we will give seven days' notice for the strike."
Cosatu's biggest affiliate, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union, has threatened to withdraw its support for the ANC should the government not improve its offer. Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi told the Sunday Times it is committed to the ANC, but its loyalty lies with its 1-million-plus members.
"We have . said the support of Cosatu must never be taken for granted. It is important that government as an employer must find a resolution on this matter," she said.
The deadlocked talks and coming local government elections are two different processes that need to be equally respected, she said. "If what the workers are demanding and the deadlock, for whatever reason, would coincide with the time of the elections, we will be with our members to support them because that's what we are elected for . We exist on the basis of defending the rights of workers in the workplace.
"If we were to find ourselves in a position where we have to choose, we would not think twice," she said.
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