South African labour organizations have engaged in numerous strikes during 2009 demanding that the government address the impact of the global economic crisis inside the country. Above SABC workers challenge management.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
COSATU APPLAUDS WAGE SETTLEMENT
The wage settlement reached between government and public
servants' unions on Monday afternoon in Pretoria has been welcomed by the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu).
Spokesman Patrick Craven said in a statement that Cosatu
congratulated the negotiators, who were involved, "for their hard
work to achieve such a good deal".
The settlement saw unions get what they wanted, which was a
double digit increase, he said.
The closed deal will be on a sliding scale between 13, 10 and
11.5 percent on average, backdated to July 1, 2009.
"It represents a big step out of poverty for thousands of our
low-paid public servants," Craven said.
He said the deal also met the demands to finalise all
outstanding issues from Resolution 1 of 2007, that included
Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) payments and a
comprehensive review of remuneration policy.
Initially labour had asked for an adjustment of 15 percent and
this had been countered by an 8.5 percent offer by government.
However, through negotiations and in just under six weeks
government raised its offer to an average of 11.5 percent.
Craven said: "Cosatu is delighted that the negotiations resolved
the dispute without a repeat of the long crippling strike which was
necessary in 2007."
He added that Cosatu also applauded its affiliated public sector
unions' determination to fight hard to improve salaries and
conditions of employees in the workplace as well as the unity they
displayed throughout the negotiations.
Craven extended the applause to government, particularly the
Minister of Public Service and Administration Richard Baloyi,
"whose approach to the negotiations was a vast improvement" on that of his predecessor two years ago.
"Its [government] negotiators appreciated that our public
servants were receiving scandalously low pay, that many were
working in appalling conditions and that vitally needed skilled
workers had been leaving the service in droves.
"There was no posturing and issuing of ultimatums, which we saw
in 2007, but a serious attempt to reach a settlement which would
satisfy the workers and lay the basis for a better motivated
workforce and better service to the public," Craven said.
Adding that Cosatu hoped that public staff would now stop
exiting the service and that vacancies would be filled so as to
lead to a steady improvement in the quality of public service.
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