Public service unions start one-day strike, crowds gather in Pretoria

• Public service unions have embarked on a one-day strike amid deadlocked public wage talks.
• Seven unions affiliated with three of the largest labour federations in the country have planned marches in eight provinces.
• Only the Western Cape could not participate as it postponed its march to Parliament due to a taxi strike in that province.
• For more financial stories, go to the News24 Business front page.

Members of seven unions in the public service embarked on a national one-day strike on Tuesday, with crowds gathering in Pretoria for a march to the National Treasury.

The unions have planned marches in eight provinces, and a second march to the National Treasury in the space of two weeks. 

A crowd consisting largely of members of the Public Servants' Association (PSA) and the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (Nupsaw) gathered outside of Burgers Park in Pretoria for the march on Tuesday morning.

For six unions, this is their first strike amid a public sector wage dispute. But this is the second day that members of the PSA won't receive pay, since they launched another one-day strike earlier this month.

At issue is the deadlocked wage negotiations in the public service, where the government is offering a 3% baseline salary increase plus a monthly cash amount of R1 045 (from R1 000 currently). The unions want a pay hike of 10%.

Other unions participating in the one-day strike on Tuesday are the National Education, Health, and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu), the Police, Prisons and Civil Rights Union (Popcru), the SA Policing Union (Sapu), the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa), Nupsaw  and the Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of SA (Hospersa).

The seven unions are part of the largest labour federations: Cosatu, the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), and the Federation of Unions SA (Fedusa). Together, they represent an estimated 800 000 members.

Union structures in the Western Cape postponed their march to Parliament over concerns for members' safety amid the ongoing taxi strike by the SA National Taxi Council.

The government told News24 on Monday that it expected every public servant that was not on leave or ill to be at their stations on Tuesday, with pickets limited to their lunch hour.  

READ | Unions to hit govt with third national action of the year - setbacks be damned

The PSA handed a memorandum of demands to the National Treasury during their march two weeks ago. They have said even public servants whose work constitutes an essential service are prepared to down tools.

The union has threatened to intensify its demonstrations in the public service and is considering marches to ministers' homes and a boycott of municipal rates.

READ | Public sector wage strike postponed in Western Cape due to taxi chaos

The strikes take place on the eve of the governing ANC's elective conference in Nasrec next month. The ANC-aligned Cosatu is eager to use the opportunity to assert its influence on the tripartite alliance. The other federations are less pliant with the ANC.