Cape Town - Public servants on Thursday took their frustrations with the government to the streets of Cape Town and Pretoria, accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration of paying them “meagre” salaries that were not enough to allow them to afford bread and school fees.
The workers, affiliated to the Public Service Association (PSA), marched to the National Treasury and also decried the government view that it did not have money, saying the money was lost due to corruption by the same government officials.
Cosatu’s public sector unions are yet to decide on their strike action after reaching a deadlock on November 1.
During the march in Pretoria, a moniker carried by a union leader, in a jibe to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, said: “We have arrived at the office of this one, who is not paying for water and rent. We pay for him.”
The protest march came after public sector unions reached a wage deadlock, but the government went ahead and implemented their 3% salary increase offers.
The unions had initially demanded 10% but lowered it to 6.5% at the time they reached a deadlock.
The PSA was the first union to declare a dispute and decided to go on strike on November 3.
The strike action finally took off on Thursday.
The PSA march was relatively peaceful, and informal traders, merchants and newspaper vendors were able to go about their business without any hindrance.
The marchers poured scorn on other public servants who had reported for work. Marchers stopped at some of the government buildings and mocked those who were working, saying “you are sell-outs” and echoed some unprintable words common in wage strikes.
On Thursday, the aggrieved workers, led by the PSA and the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) and supported by other unions such as Health & Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa and National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers, made their plight known during the march as they demanded that the government withdraw its “unilateral implementation” of the 3% salary increase.
While they carried a list of demands contained in the memorandum which was handed over to the National Treasury officials, the workers also displayed their demands in posters, some of which took jibes at Godongwana, Acting Public Service and Administration Minister Thulas Nxesi and Ramaphosa.
They also took a swipe at the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu), one of three teachers’ unions in the country, which accepted the offer despite it being rejected by fellow Cosatu unions.
One of the posters read: “Godongwana take that 3% (and) give (it) to Sadtu and employees of Skukuza National Park. Public servants are bleeding.”
Others read: “Government still owes us 2020 salary increase” and “We want a real increase. No manga- manga business”.
Cape Times