Unions open to wage negotiations if government starts at 3%: PSA

The Public Servants Association (PSA) says it is still open to negotiating further on the current wage stalemate if the government is willing to move from its initial offer.

The public sector unions confirmed that it is conducting a strike ballot among its members this week on whether to commence with its first full-blown strike in over a decade.

The unions are demanding a 6.5% wage increase while the government is offering 2%.

PSA spokesperson Claude Naicker says, “Majority of unions in the state indicated that ‘listen, we are able to talk, we are able to negotiate if you start at least with a 3% baseline increase’, and they indicated that this can only be achieved with cost-saving measure.”

“So, the next meeting is coming up this week and we hope that they come up with a better offer than 2%. If they do come up with 3% we still have to take it to our members and members must decide if 3% is a better alternative,” Naicker says.

Public servants demoralised due to negative pressures like wage unfairness