BusinessLive reports that thousands of staff members at the SA Revenue Service (SARS) could down tools on Thursday as they push for a double-digit wage increase at an agency that has consistently missed its revenue targets for the past four years.  

Meetings are due continue on Monday, but the parties remain far apart.  Unions are demanding a one-year agreement and an 11.4% wage increase, while SARS is offering 7.1% in the first year of a three-year inflation-linked agreement.  Unions maintain that their members are being prejudiced by years of mismanagement at the agency, and are being pushed to meet increased revenue targets while posts are going unfilled and benefits are being rolled back.  The SARS bargaining council covers just fewer than 10,000 employees, with about 5,300 represented by the Public Servants Association (PSA) and 4,400 by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu).  The unions lodged a dispute in February, and the CCMA issued a certificate of non-resolution on 19 March.  The current three-year wage agreement that Sars has with organised labour expires on 31 March.  Sars said on Saturday it was confident an agreement would ultimately be found, but any agreement would need to account for reduced government revenue and higher debt levels.

• Read the full original of Karl Gernetzky’s report on the looming strike at BusinessLive
• Read too, SARS to resume talks with trade unions ahead of planned wage strike, at EWN

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