BL Premium reports that talks between the government and public sector trade unions on the dispute over wages recommenced last week with the government putting a new offer on the table.  

In terms of the 2018 three-year wage agreement, public servants should have received increases of between 4.3% and 5.4% on 1 April.  But the government, which is seeking to cut expenditure and slow the growth of the public-sector wage bill, in March proposed a wage freeze for 2020/21.  The parties are now in dispute and are undergoing conciliation in the Public Sector Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC).  Last week, the government increased its offer to unions to include a one-off monthly gratuity for the year, in a combination of cash and additional leave. The gratuity would be calculated on a sliding scale of between 2.7% and 1.6% of the monthly wage, with an equivalent increase to employees’ leave allowance.  It would not be included into the baseline of the wage, meaning that in April 2021, employees would remain on the same notch as a year earlier.  Mugwena Maluleka, who heads Cosatu’s public-sector unions joint management committee, said that unions had raised a number of questions with the government negotiators, who had undertaken to reply at a meeting on Friday.  But, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) said on Tuesday it would not continue with the conciliation and was ready to proceed to arbitration.  Unions affiliated to Fedusa did not attend the conciliation hearing and have said they intend to proceed directly to the labour court to have the matter heard.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at BusinessLive (paywall access only)

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