SOUTH AFRICA: As South Africa's civil servant strike enters it's third week, unions say that negotiations have failed to reach a deal

Record ID: 338719

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: As South Africa's civil servant strike enters it's third week, unions say that negotiations have failed to reach a deal
  • Date: 23rd June 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE)(English) UNNAMED PROTESTER SAYING: "We feel that the masses have been deprived what is rightfully theirs, you see...the workers are here are determined, we are going forward, we are not turning back." (SOUNDBITE)(English) UNNAMED PROTESTER SAYING: "Unless we put this country to a standstill, our government won't realise that we are serious about this. We are no
  • Embargoed: 8th July 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6KS5NTM2HO719UC93ED6RZF5D
  • Story Text: As South Africa's civil servant strike enters it's third week, unions say that negotiations have failed to reach a deal.
    South Africa's labour federation said on Friday (June 22) negotiators had failed to reach a deal with the government to end a three-week public servants' strike.
    In a statement following talks with government representatives, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said that the majority of public service unions agreed that they cannot at this stage sign any agreement with the employer.
    At a protest organised by a teaching union in Pretoria, striking workers said that they would continue to strike until their demands were met.
    "We feel that the masses have been deprived what is rightfully theirs, you see...the workers are here are determined, we are going forward, we are not turning back." said one protester when speaking to Reuters.
    "Unless we put this country to a standstill, our government won't realise that we are serious about this. We are not going to work, we are not going anywhere." said another striking education worker.
    Another teacher on strike, who wouldn't give his name, said that the governments in Africa needed to listen to their workers.
    "African governments must start to look into their workers demands, and start addressing their workers demands" he said.
    The unions have said, however, that the government had tabled a new offer and they would have 21 days to consider it. They said union representatives would meet again on Sunday (June 24) to begin this process. In the meantime, the strike would continue COSATU President Willie Madisha told a South African news agency.
    The COSATU statement dashed hopes of a quick resolution to the strike, which has crippled schools and hospitals across the country and revealed stark divisions between the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and its labour allies.
    But it left open the possibility that the government's latest offer -- details of which were not immediately available -- could be accepted by union members perhaps as early as Sunday.
    Labour officials have been consulting their members to decide on a response to the state's latest reported pay rise offer of 7.5 percent. Unions are demanding a minimum rise of 9 percent.
    South Africa's economy -- the continent's biggest -- is booming but civil servants complain their wages can barely keep pace with inflation, currently at 6.3 percent.
    Hundreds of thousands of workers have taken part in the strike, which has demonstrated workers' power ahead of a leadership congress this year that may see the ANC name a successor to President Thabo Mbeki.
    A South African labour court ruled on Friday that police officers cannot join the strike but said non-essential staff in the force could take part in the job boycott, which unions bill as the largest ever in post-apartheid South Africa.
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