The government terminated collective bargaining within the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) on Wednesday, the ILC said in a statement.

The ILC represents 11 public service worker unions at the PSCBC.

“The state converted the present working document to an agreement, terminated negotiations, and signed the agreement,” the caucus said.

The agreement would then be tendered by the state in the hope the majority of union members would sign it.

The ILC said it was close to tabling a settlement that would have secured an agreement, but the opportunity was lost due to the way proceedings were organised.

“It is incomprehensible why the state as employer has embarked on this irresponsible route,” the caucus said.

The ILC-aligned Public Servants Association (PSA) said on Thursday that talks deadlocked in May, with labour demanding an 8% increase versus the state’s offer of a 6.5% rise over three years.

Labour also demanded the current R800 housing allowance be increased to R1000, while the state intended replacing the housing allowance with a housing scheme, PSA general manager Danny Adonis said.

After more PSCBC meetings, the state made its final offer on Wednesday for the 2012/2013 financial year, which workers rejected, he said.

“The dispute will be resolved in terms of the PSCBC’s dispute resolution procedures.” 

The state and labour had 30 days to resolve the dispute and if no resolution was reached, the PSA would not prevent its members from going on strike, he said.

As far as the government was concerned, negotiations had not been broken off, Department of Public Service and Administration spokesman Dumisani Nkwamba said.

The government had tabled its settlement offer at 6.5 percent and a 1.5% increase for all public service employees, depending on performance, and a R900 housing allowance, he said.

“The negotiations have not been broken off, and therefore unions have been given 21 days to consider the offer and consult their members, and effectively respond to the government’s offer.” 

The government was operating within the parameters of the PSCBC, Nkwamba said.

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Mon May 20 10:30:57 SAST 2013 ::

Jun 15, 2012

MommaC

Welcome to the madhouse Ms Sisulu :)

I hope they got the memo about the consequences of trashing the city.
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Jun 15, 2012

Mogwapatholo

Here we go again, poor poeple's lives will be at stake once more. Disruption @ hospitals should be avoided.

“The negotiations have not been broken off, and therefore unions have been given 21 days to consider the offer and consult their members, and effectively respond to the government’s offer.”
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This offer has been rejected already try settlement and stop delaying tactics.
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Jun 15, 2012

sabza007

Let them trash the streets again and damage people's properties. Their unions will pay, its official. We are tired of hooligans who always want increase but not improving their service in any department.
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Jun 15, 2012

malemaforpresident

And come elections o tlo kwa nywerenywere this time around i am very much jealous with my vote wake up
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Jun 15, 2012

TheNewFreedomFighter

This is what happens when a government gets into bed with the unions - they get SCREWED. As long as the unions play the govenment like puppets business, and thus job growth, will suffer. With the crisis in Eurpope about to hit us, Vavi and his communist cronies will bring this country to it knees in a year or two. So what will the ANC do? I'll bet you they will throw the baby out with the bath water. You wait and see what comes out of their policy convention later this month. They will bow to Malema's and the union's call for nationalisation and so will start a process of decapitalisation and, sadly poverty, as in Zimbabwe, will be the winner.

I have an analogy for you: The ANC and it alliance partners are like a couple that decide to get married as Christians (capitalism). After a time they start feeling astranged from each other and the marriage begins to break down. Like most people they discuss their problem and decide that they should rather remarry as Muslims (socialism/communism) because perhaps under the Muslim faith their relationship will grow stronger. But alas, their relationship continues to decline and they become poorer, both as people and economically because the poor relationship drags them down slowly but surely. Relationships are not build upon ideology, they transcend ideology.

The economic vehicle to prosperity is NOT Malema's version of collective "economic f r e e dom" it is hard work through individual choices in a free-market economy. Show me one wealthy collectivised country. Hell man, even China saw the writing on the wall 2 decades or more ago. The only thing they got wrong was to retain authoritarianism. The unions are benefitting a few but k i l l i n g the rest of us.
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Jun 15, 2012

Lungu

This government has failed the people of South Africaand other people are still suipporting them which i fail to understand why. People have the right to increasement since everything is going up and the cost of living is getting high.

@sabza007 its clear you are in a private sector but please don't turn a blind eye its difficult for most puiblic servants to provide best services we all want, remember most managers, ceos etc in the government are un educated and even employee people who don't qualify simply because they are in power and can employ whoever they want to, these ppl belong to the ANC and they don't even provide their employers with materials or equipments they want to perform those services, hence why we get audits stating that a certain department has over spent on what you will never know, a good example here in Limpopo we had employess fromn premier picketing almost everyday to get Mathale to be fired simply because he failed the province and themn as well, some were complaining about furnishers which the department specified on the audit conducted that they have spend a certain sum of money on buying thnose furnishers which were not there. So some of the things realy need to be fiquired out before lashing out my bra.
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Jun 15, 2012

Hail

What happend to planning ahead? Why does Government wait for negotiating first? I really do not understand why is it hard to give the people increase without them toy-toying. People must die first @ the hospitals and the streets have to be trashed before they give them what they want. How many rands have gone down the drain due to corruption? The people in the government cannot afford even buying houses but they give all into their work and they (gov) expect to have a normal society. How about everyone in the ruling party cut their salary in half, all of them in order to give to the public servants for one year. Hahahahah they care for the people moes! is better life for all by giving those who does not have in order for them to live a normal life. No they cannot because is all about them.Greedy! All the monies that are lost in departments due to corruption is enough to change the lives of so many South African. Our government should learn how to plan ahead " ditlamelwana tsa pula di bankangwa go sale gale" better save than never.
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Jun 15, 2012

khayaduze

I hope the government can be more serious in attending this matter. They can better the offer. The strike will just leave more and more people suffering for the very services which are poor.
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Jun 15, 2012

Mrazane

Eish public servants... baya dina they would get find during probation if they joined the private sector, they give such lousy service its a shame, the only exception is SARS (no surprise there everyone who wants you money has to be efficient even pick pocketers know that) and I must also comment DTI Cipro grand grand, it gets full but the staff are there working...as for the rest SA would be better without you, the good ones are too few and sorry to you if you one of the very very very few good ones.
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