Business Day *Ultimatum for public service unions* *Luphert Chilwane, Business Day, Johannesburg, 4 August 2010*IT IS crunch time today for Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi and public sector unions after Mr Baloyi yesterday gave unions an ultimatum to accept a 6,5% wage increase and a R630 housing allowance or have the state unilaterally impose it on them.
The unions rejected the offer again yesterday, saying they were gearing up for a strike next week.
If state employees --- teachers, nurses, police officers and administrators --- go on strike next week, it would put strain on the operations of government departments, affect service delivery and cripple the country's economy.
Dumisani Nkwamba, spokesman for the Department of Public Service and Administration, said that it was in the public interest for unions to accept the final offer today.
"The minister gave the unions an ultimatum to accept the offer. It is in the best interest of the unions to accept the offer or we will implement it without them," he said.
Sizwe Pamla, spokesman for the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union representing about 240000 workers , said the government had adopted a hostile attitude towards workers and that attitude was making them angry.
"There is a very dark mood on the ground. Workers have looked at other workers from state-owned entities getting increases. If the government can manage to look after those workers, why not us?
"We are used to such an attitude and it upset us," Mr Pamla said.The South African Democratic Teachers Union, representing 243000 teachers, and the Public Servants Association, which represents 200000 employees, said they were ready to go on strike .
Mr Baloyi said the offer was reasonable and fair, given the implications for all of SA's people.
He said that if he acquiesced to the unions' demands, there would not be enough money left to increase the number of police officers, nurses or teachers.
The government would instead be paying the salaries of existing public servants.
Andrew Levy, a labour expert from Levy Associates, said this year's strike might be bigger than the month-long 2007 public service strike, and that it might last longer than four weeks.
"T he fact that both parties are far apart from each other would make the strike even worse ... this could be a bigger strike."
He warned that this would be detrimental to the operations of government departments, schools, hospitals, ports of entry and licence issuing. The strike was part of a trend that had been gaining momentum since 2007, he said, adding that he would "like to see the establishment of public inquiry to investigate wages and condition of employment of both workers in the public sector and the private sector".
"We would like to know whether it is true that public servants are being poorly paid," Mr Levy said.
Sandile July, labour expert and director at Werksmans, said that if the strike went ahead, the unions should act responsibly, making sure that essential services remained uninterrupted.
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