This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
Fin24 reports that the rift between trade unions in the public sector deepened on Thursday, with the alliance of unions that went on strike accusing those that did not of being sweetheart unions and of lying to workers about the 7.5% wage offer by the government.
Public sector unions are now split almost down the middle with the non-strikers, which include all public sector unions affiliated to Fedusa and Cosatu-affiliated Sadtu holding 53.9% of votes in the Public Sector Coordinating Bargaining Chamber (PSCBC) and the rest of Cosatu's public sector unions and others with 46%. The slightly smaller, more militant coalition includes Nehawu, Popcru, Denosa, the SA Policing Union and other smaller unions. While the Fedusa-Sadtu coalition has approached its members to consult on government's 7.5% wage increase for 2023/24, the more militant group said they rejected it, arguing that after a R1,000 cash gratuity is rolled into the baseline of pensionable salaries, the actual increase amounts only to 2.8%. The R1,000 (after tax) gratuity was a sweetener paid to public sector workers for the last two years to soften the blow of below-inflation increases. While employees got the extra cash in their pockets, the amount was not included in pensionable salaries. The cash gratuity automatically falls away when a new agreement is signed. The rift between the striking unions and the government also deepened last week when the majority unions and government refused the minority the opportunity to re-open 2022/23 wage negotiations in the PSCBC. The minority coalition is adamant that the government had made a binding undertaking to re-open talks on the 2022/23 year in return for ending their illegal strike.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at Fin24
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page