POPCRU against any intents to renege on the 2018 Public Service Agreement

26 February 2020

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) is in full support of the call made by our federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), in rejecting the ill-intended attempt to renege from the implementation of the 2018 Public Service Wage Agreement by government.

This rejection stems from the malevolent proposal made by government in the first Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC), which is aimed at reviewing the agreement, essentially meaning they intend to review the PSCBC Resolution 1 of 2018, clause 3.3 which deals with the implementation of salary increases for public servants who are within the scope of the PSCBC.

We have over the past years noted the ill-intended attempts to usurp workers of their rights, with the sole aim of reducing their livelihoods standards, making them scapegoats for the sins committed by the many who continue to roam our streets after years of looting state resources.

We view this latest attempt as a direct attack on trade unions and workers in general, aimed at causing unwarranted rifts, and we reject any such move which is aimed are reversing workers’ gains.

If the Minister of Finance dares freeze public service wages in his address later today, we and other affiliates will be left with no choice but to take protest action.

Issued by Richard Mamabolo, Media and Communications Officer, POPCRU, 26 February 2020