Johannesburg - Representatives of some of the country’s 1.3 million public servants are planning protests at the ANC national conference against the government’s failure to increase its employees’ salaries by 10%.
The governing party’s five-day conference is expected to start on Friday at Nasrec, Johannesburg. According to the Public Servants Association (PSA), an affiliate of the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa), plans and consultations are under way to stage a protest at the ANC’s upcoming national conference.
The PSA, which represents more than 235 000 government employees, indicated that this was in response to the attack on collective bargaining by certain Cabinet ministers. This is concerning the collapse of the wage negotiations at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) and the government’s decision to unilaterally implement a 3% salary increase backdated to April.
“We are in consultation with other unions to consider picketing at the ANC conference. We will update once consultations have been concluded,” said the PSA’s Reuben Maleka.
However, other unions that are parties to the PSCBC do not appear to be keen on protesting outside the venue of the ANC national conference.
Basil Manuel, executive director of the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of SA, another Fedusa affiliate, told the “Sunday Independent” that the union will not be part of the protests at Nasrec.
SA Policing Union general secretary Tumelo Mogodiseng said they have not been lobbied by the PSA and are not part of the planned protests.
"It’s not a collective labour position, it’s a PSA thing,” he insisted.
Also not in support of the pickets is the Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union (YNITU), which is not a party to the PSCBC and was until recently an affiliate of the SA Federation of Trade Unions.
YNITU president Rich Sicina said: “No, we won't be there because we are not in the bargaining council, we were never part of the sell-out brigade. We just believe these unions are clueless and playing with workers' emotions.”
Sicina added that the unions that are parties to the PSCBC were supposed to call out a total shutdown a long time ago but have instead waited even when the employer announced the implementation of 3% without a collective agreement and resolution.
“They have powers to give a directive to members to withdraw their services, but they don’t want to do that. It is very sad, the employer doesn’t fear unions any more, only because they know they are done with them,” he said.
Simon Hlungwani, convener of Cosatu’s joint mandating committee, did not respond to questions on whether any of the federation’s affiliates who are parties to the PSCBC would join the protest during the ANC national conference.
Acting Public Service and Administration Minister Thulas Nxesi has detailed the government’s plan to deal with a potential strike by public servants. He said the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) has developed a detailed strike management plan, which outlines the procedural requirements for protected pickets and strikes.
“Measures to mitigate the impact of the strike have been put in place, such as the establishment of strike management committees from a national level and across all the departments,” he explained.
Provincial government departments will be co-ordinated from premiers’ offices and reports relating to the strike will be collated daily and sent to the co-ordinating structure and then to DPSA, according to Nxesi.
Since the breakdown in negotiations, issuing of a strike notice and certificates of non-resolution last month, the department has repeatedly warned public servants that the “no work, no pay” principle will be strictly applied and that no leave will be granted for participation in protest action.