Today's Labour News

Moneyweb reports that public sector unions have rejected a request to postpone Wednesday’s Labour Appeal Court battle with the government over implementation of the final leg of the contentious 2018 wage increase agreement.  

Unions representing the Public Servants Association (PSA), the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union, the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA, and the Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of SA want the court to compel the government to stick to the terms of the agreement relating to wage increases in 2020.  The collective agreement was implemented for the first two years, but the state has expressed its inability to implement the final-year agreement due to the strain on the fiscus brought on by rising debt and the Covid-19 pandemic.  In a last-ditch effort to reach an out-of-court agreement with unions on Tuesday, the government requested that the 2 December court appearance be postponed to 1 February 2021.  This was to allow the government to iron out the details of the possible settlement.  But, Cosatu chief negotiator Mugwena Maluleke rejected the government’s proposal, saying that it had requested the postponement because it was “not ready” with its case.  “It’s too late to ask for a postponement on the last day and we have done a lot of work to prepare,” he noted.  The PSA’s Reuben Maleka accused the government of “running way…because they have a weak case.”  Cosatu affiliates plan to stage a sit-in at the Union Buildings on Thursday to demand President Cyril Ramaphosa’s response to a memorandum submitted during the national day of action on 7 October.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thando Maeko at Moneyweb (https://www.moneyweb.co.za/south-africa-3/unions-reject-governments-request-to-postpone-wage-bill-court-battle/)
• Read too, Public sector unions rebuff state’s wage settlement offer, at BusinessLive (paywall access only)

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page