BL Premium reports that following talks at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) on Tuesday, public service unions have 21 days to persuade their members to accept or reject the government’s revised, final offer of a 3% across-the-board wage increase.

Frikkie de Bruin, general secretary of the PSCBC, said the latest offer to the more than 1.3-million public servants included a R1,000 after-tax cash gratuity to be in force until the pay agreement expired on 31 March 2023. The 3% offer – the government previously tabled a 2% hike in the cost-of-living adjustment – mirrors the recent 3% pay increase, backdated to April 2021, for ministers and deputies, premiers, MECs, MPs, MPLs, traditional leaders and judges. The Public Servants Association (PSA) and Cosatu affiliates, which initially demanded a 10% pay hike, recently trimmed their demands down to 6.5%. “Trade unions now have the opportunity to consult their members and seek mandates on the provisions of the (3%) agreement. The consultation process must be concluded within a 21-day period. The PSCBC will pronounce on the outcomes after the consultation period or as and when the agreement reaches a majority,” De Bruin indicated. Reuben Maleka of the PSA advised that employer representatives stressed in talks at the bargaining council on Tuesday that “this is their last offer”. The PSA lodged a dispute at the PSCBC in July after rejecting the government’s 2% offer and R1,000 after-tax cash gratuity. The state argued at the time that that equated to a combined 6.5%.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

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