BusinessLive reports that public sector unions have condemned the government’s "lax and indifferent" approach to wage negotiations after it failed to present workers with a wage offer, almost three months into the talks.  

The unions have also described the government negotiators’ reasons for not reporting back, namely that they had not received a mandate from the government, as "frivolous".  The negotiators were meant to provide feedback to labour’s demands last Thursday, following an earlier postponement.  In a joint statement on Monday, the unions warned that if the government did not keep its promise of returning to talks on 7 December, workers would be antagonized and would “force us to exercise our rights."  The unions want a “solid and coherent response” on 7 December.  The unions were also unhappy with the government’s various presentations to parliament on the public sector wage bill, saying that amounted to negotiating through the media.

• Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at BusinessLive
• Read the unions’ joint statement at Cosatu Today

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page