Fin24 reports that two days of arbitration at the SA Local Government Bargaining Council between the SA Local Government Association (Salga), the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union will start later this month.

Samwu declared a dispute with Salga, representing local government in wage talks under the auspices of the bargaining council, which triggered an arbitration process aimed at breaking the deadlock. The arbitration is set to take place on 19 and 20 July in Durban. The dispute is registered as a "mutual interest dispute" by essential service employees in terms of section 74 of the Labour Relations Act. While the in-person hearings will be compliant with Covid-19 lockdown regulations, additional delegates will be able to connect to the hearings virtually. Before the breakdown of talks on Friday, Samwu demanded a R4,000 salary increase across the board and a sectoral minimum wage of R15,000. The bargaining council’s facilitator proposed a three-year wage agreement, with a 4% salary increase in the first year and with projected CPI minus 1% in the remaining two years.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24

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