More than 200 000 members of the Public Servants Association (PSA) will down tools from midnight tonight in pursuance of their salary and benefit demands.
Public servants demand a 8.6% salary increase, a housing subsidy of R1 000 and medical aid subsidy parity with effect from 1 April 2010, whilst Government is only offering a 6.5%-salary increase and R620 housing subsidy with effect from 1 July 2010.
"The fact that Government's offer to its core public sector employees is so much less than the settlement rates in other public sector institutions and entities infuriated our members, who face the same economic realities than their colleagues in these sectors, with the reality that the real inflation on their expenses that gulps up more than 90% of their disposable income, is not close to CPI, for instance electricity, food, fuel, clothing and healthcare," said Koos Kruger, Provincial Manager for the PSA in Cape Town.
According to the, this situation informed their demands which are regarded as reasonable and fair in the circumstances.
"Public servants in all sectors will be participating in the strike except for our members in essential services on whom we call to act responsibly and to obey the law. We do, however, foresee major disruptions to key services especially immigration services at airports and other ports of entry, deeds offices and non-court services at the Department of Justice where the PSA represents the majority of employees", said Kruger.
The PSA plans country-wide mass actions, including a mass-protest march to Parliament in Cape Town in 29 July 2010, where a memorandum of demands will be handed to a Government representative.
Whilst calling on labour unity from all unions in convincing the employer to meet the demands, Kruger said: "We trust that public servants will show the same resolve they had in 2007, when we claimed a major victory with our country-wide strike."
Statement issued by the Public Servants Association, July 28 2010
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