Public sector unions continue to picket

Public sector unions in the province picketed for a second day on Tuesday in a bid to pressure the government to up its 3% wage increase offer.

Cosatu Eastern Cape secretary Mkhawuleli Maleki said its members were picketing in solidarity with their counterparts countrywide whose representatives were in negotiations with the government.

The protests are being staged in all nine provinces.

He said Cosatu was staging pickets for now because discussions on the labour federation’s wage demands were under way.

“We are not in a full-blown strike, it’s just to mount pressure so that those who are discussing know that workers are waiting outside for anything if the outcome of the conciliation does not favour them,” Maleki said.

“It’s only shop stewards that are involved in the picketing for now because we do not want to risk workers’ [jobs] when there is no legal strike that has been declared.

“We are mounting pressure and giving support for those negotiations in the boardrooms on behalf of workers.”

He said the workers were ready to embark on a full strike should they not get the salary hike they aimed for.

“The employer must know if they don’t agree with us, even if it’ sa compromise, we are going to fight this time around,” he said.

Cosatu-affiliated unions want an increase that is above inflation and have rejected the 3% hike finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced in parliament last week.

“We will be poorer after the increase than before as inflation affects everything.

“Our compromise is inflation plus 1%. Nothing less than inflation,” he said.

He said unlike one of its affiliates, Satawu, which failed to get an above-inflation increase in the Transnet strike, Cosatu was confident of getting its way because its affiliates were the majority unions in the public sector.

The federation picketed in Bhisho, for the second day in a row, on Tuesday.

Union federation Saftu said it supported the calls by the other federations.

Its general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, said it was still awaiting outcomes of the mediation but it seemed that there would be a fullblown public sector strike.

He said Saftu was supporting the pickets under way across the country.

“We are everywhere, there are joint pickets of all the three federations and we are waiting ... for a report as to what will happen in the two days of conciliation.

“Our unions are waiting ahead for a co-ordinated date when the strike can happen.

“They don’t believe that anything is going to come out of this conciliation.

“But we are waiting for [National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union] and others to come out and see what they received.”

Federation of Unions of South Africa general secretary Riefdah Ajam said its affiliates had gone beyond the dispute process with the employer and were now finalising picket rules for a full-blown strike.

She said its education sector union had, however, agreed with the 3% offer from the government.

“Our unions essentially have a challenge with the cash gratuity, the non-pensionable portion and for it to continue beyond March 2023,” she said.