Fin24 reports that public sector union structures in the Western Cape held a march to Parliament on Friday in protest against the government's 3% baseline wage offer, insisting on a 10% hike.
The march came after structures in the other eight provinces held a national day of action in November. But, the unions acknowledged that their demonstrations would remain one-day protests, as they were still canvassing structures and membership about their appetite for a full-blown strike. While the unions said that a full-blown strike was still being seriously considered, they advised that there were a host of engagements they needed to have with members, other unions, and other labour federations before the deadlock got to that point. Cosatu Western Cape’s Siya Mgolombane said all options were on the table to get the grievances of workers across to the government. He added that Cosatu was considering everything possible within the limits of the law. Saftu national spokesperson Trevor Shaku indicated: "There will be a meeting by the Joint Labour Working Team to assess and decide on the way forward. Yes, such actions as picketing at the ANC's national conference and others have been discussed, but the team will further evaluate and finalise the next course of action." Shaku said the team comprised representatives from all the federations including from the now-independent SA Policing Union, which notified Saftu through a letter last week that it would be leaving the federation.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane & Na'ilah Ebrahim at Fin24
- Read too, Disgruntled civil servants march in Cape Town over wages, at EWN
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page