Striking S.African workers to vote on new wage offer

Striking South African state workers will vote on Tuesday on an increased wage offer made by the government to try to end a nearly three-week-old strike, the COSATU union federation said.

The government increased its offer to 7.5 percent from 7 percent — compared to the union demand for 8.6 percent — after being ordered back to negotiations by President Jacob Zuma, under growing political pressure over the stoppages.

Analyst said the offer improved prospects for a deal to end the strike that has closed schools, prevented treatment at hospitals and harmed investor sentiment in Africa’s biggest economy.

But the country’s largest union of state workers, teachers’ union SADTU — said its members were likely to reject the revised offer, which could put pressure on government to quickly improve its terms or risk a wider strike.

“The general view is that the offer is being rejected and it is going to be difficult to push teachers,” Thobile Ntola, SADTU’s president, told Reuters. The union claims about 250,000 members.

Union officials from the coalition of more than a dozen groups representing about 1.3 million striking state workers said a decision on whether to accept the new offer was likely to come early on Wednesday.

SADTU is the largest state workers’ union in the country’s biggest labour federation COSATU and has the power to influence other unions to reject the offer.

As well as the proposed wage increase, the government raised its offer for a monthly housing allowance to 800 rand. Unions have been demanding 1,000 rand.

Although its impact on currency, bond and stock markets has been minimal so far, that could change if the strike spreads to the broader economy. COSATU has threatened a one-day sympathy strike by all its members on Thursday if no deal is reached.

“At this stage, the sympathy strike on Thursday is on hold,” COSATU President Sidumo Dlamini told Reuters. But it would go ahead if the offer is widely rejected.

That strike by nearly 2 million members of affiliated unions would hit industries such as mining, manufacturing and communications.

Reuters.