Durban – At least 100 prison warders staged a lunch time picket outside Westville Prison today against the 3% wage increase being offered by the government.
While the government has said the 3% increase would be implemented, public servants are demanding a much higher increase in line with inflation.
Last week the Public Servants’ Association announced that it would be going on a nationwide strike.
Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) provincial secretary Nthabeleng Molefe said the union was embarking on lunch time pickets together with mass meetings in the different sectors because of their unhappiness with the 3% wage increase offer.
“We are not happy about it, we demand 10%. We understand that there was a dispute that was declared and in terms of the conciliation there was no agreement that is why we are embarking on the pickets. We are doing this also to keep the members informed how far we are in terms of the salary negotiations.”
Molefe added that the members were angry about the situation.
“That 3% means nothing to us because for the past three years we did not receive any increase. The increase is an insult. It shows that the government is not concerned about us as employees working for the state. The struggle will continue till we have our increase.”
Molefe said that a national march was being planned by Popcru for next week.
“On the 22 November there will be a national march in Gauteng, as the provinces we will also be having our own marches. We will be marching from King Dinuzulu Park to Marine building where we will hand over a memorandum of demands. Our members will attend in numbers to show the government that we are angry with what they are doing.”
Last week the Department of Public Service and Administration said the baseline increase of 3% would be paid to public servants today.
It added that it called up trade unions to return to the bargaining chambers to start negotiations for the 2023/24 financial year in order to conclude the process before the minister of finance tables the final budget in February 2023.