Business Report
*Dispute declared after state talks flop* *Wiseman Khuzwayo, Business Report, Johannesburg, 15 June 2012*The Independent Labour Caucus (ILC) has declared a wage dispute with the state after public sector pay talks broke down, the caucus said yesterday.
The ILC represents 11 public service worker unions at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council. This is after the government declared yesterday that its 6.5 percent wage increase offer to public service unions was its final offer in a move that could lead to a deadlock in negotiations, possibly to a stand-off and ultimately a punishing strike.
The unions are demanding an 8 percent wage increase. The last strike over wages in the public service was in 2010.
Schools were evacuated after non-striking teachers were intimidated. This may spell disaster for the ANC, which is struggling to avert a series of violent and disruptive service delivery protests, before its elective conference in Mangaung in December.
However, the government denied yesterday that it had broken off wage talks with the public service unions and instead insisted that what it had done was in line with the rules of the Public Service Bargaining Council.
Dumisani Nkwamba, a spokesman for the Department of Public Service and Administration, said: "We have not broken off the negotiations. We have given the unions 21 days to consider the offer."
The government made its final offer for the current financial year in the early hours of yesterday morning, after a marathon negotiation session with the unions that began on Wednesday afternoon.
Nkwamba said the offer was accompanied by a 1.5 percent pay progression for all public servants, as well as a R900 housing allowance, with no conditions attached.
He said the government negotiators had also offered a multi-term agreement of three years that would include a wage increase of 0.5 percentage points above the inflation rate in 2013 and 2014.
The unions have 21 days to discuss the offer with members and to accept or reject it.
ILC spokesman Chris Klopper said: "The state negotiators said they had had enough. They took the working document and converted it into a collective agreement and signed it.
"For the working document to be a collective agreement, the majority of the unions have to sign it. They have pulled the trigger and we regard that as extremely irresponsible."
Klopper said he did not think any of the unions would sign the offer.In that case, the government could implement the offer unilaterally. Alternatively, either party could declare a dispute and refer the matter for conciliation for 30 days. After that period expires, the government could declare a lock-out of the public servants or the unions could declare a strike.
Nkosana Dolopi, a spokesman for the Cosatu-affiliated unions, said the unions would take the offer to their structures. He said: "We are not talking of a strike now. What we are saying is if you want to deliver services, you must give your workers decent wages."
Additional reporting by Sapa*From: http://www.iol.co.za/business/business-news/dispute-declared-after-state-talks-flop-1.1319556#.T9ri1Bc_-cs*
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