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South Africa

South African public sector workers walk out

Public servants in South Africa downed tools indefinitely on Wednesday after rejecting a revised government wage deal.  

Photo: Reuters
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Many schools, hospitals and public offices are expected to be affected.

01:44

Q & A: Mugwena Maluleke

Mark Rodden

The government had offered to increase workers monthly housing allowance to 700 rand (65 euros) from a previous offer of 630 rand. But its wage rise offer was still seven per cent.

Unions are holding out for an 8.6 per cent pay increase and 1,000 rand for housing.

The unions have already lowered their demands, Mugwena Maluleke of the South African Democratic Teachers Union in Johannesburg told RFI.

Although Maluleke acknowledges that the government had made some efforts to resolve the problem he points out that “we [the unions] have moved by three per cent and the government has only moved 1.3 per cent”.

“The government is not moving,” Maluleke says, warning that “the government cannot afford to have people of this country not receiving services”.

He predicts that the strike will force the government to make more concessions.

“It is the responsibility of the state to ensure that their workers are passionate and motivated to do their work. So therefore the state is obliged to come back and address these particular issues.”

Last week tens of thousands of public sector workers demonstrated before handing over their demands to authorities.

South Africa has seen a wave of strikes in recent years, though unions say the latest strike could be the largest for several years as it is indefinite.

During the World Cup transport and power supply worker unions won pay rises after threatening to strike during the tournament being hosted in the country.

 

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