POPCRU statement on the current wage negotiations

24 May 2021

It has come to the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union’s (POPCRU) attention the misleading circulation of old articles on social media platforms, creating an impression that POPCRU has signed the current draft wage agreement that the employer has offered on the 16^th of May 2021 during the facilitation process.

We wish to clarify that the article in circulation was crafted in the year 2018, and was at the time dealing with the issue around the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) Resolution 1 of 2018, in which the 1^st leg and 2^nd leg of that agreement were implemented, and the last year of implementation has not yet been implemented, pending the outcomes of the Constitutional Court which is scheduled for the 24^th of August 2021.

The negotiations ended on the 23^rd of April 2021, with labour rejecting the employer’s 0% offer, based on a 3-year salary freeze over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). Parties went into a facilitation process from the 7^th of May 2021 until the 21^st of May 2021 wherein the employer revised their offer, totalling around R22, 2 billion from their previous offer of 0%.

This offer is broken down as follows;

R14, 4 billion is spread over 1, 2 million public servants, covered within the scope of the PSCBC from salary level 1 to 12, amounting to R978 across the board. This is non-pensionable gratuity, which will be paid with effect on the 1^st of April 2021 to 31 March 2022.

The offer includes a 1, 5% pensionable  pay progression to employees employed by the state as at 1^st April 2021, including  those employees who are  on personal notches and those employees who would have not qualified for pay progression in accordance with sectoral collective agreements.

All other employees who qualify for pay progression in line with sectoral collective agreements will receive the applicable percentage in accordance with the sectoral collective agreements.

The facilitation process has been adjourned to allow labour to seek mandate on the employer’s revised offer on the cost of living adjustment. The facilitation process will assume on the 4^th of June 2021 for labour to table their mandates on the employer’s offer.

Facilitators will also table their proposed solutions in relation to other demands within the course of this current week, for labour’s consideration.

We reiterate that we have not signed any new agreement with the employer, are currently in the process of consulting with our structures, seeking mandate on the revised offer by the employer on the 16^th of May 2021.

We urge our members to disregard any misleading information that does not emanate from the union about the union, and will be issuing information regarding the wage negotiations of the 2021-22 in due course.

Issued by POPCRU, 24 May 2021