Thursday, September 02, 2010

Civil servant’s strike drags on

By Lelethu Mquqo
2 September 2010

A crippling nation wide strike by civil servants is set to continue after labour unions flatly rejected government’s latest pay offer.

About one-point-three million workers have been out on strike for three weeks, causing commotion in many departments.

A spokesperson for Cosatu, the country’s largest labour federation, says they need more time to consult their members about the latest offer.

Meanwhile, the strike has seen schools being closed and investor sentiment dealt a severe blow.

However, Cosatu said it was suspending a one-day sympathy strike this week by all its member unions that could have shut mines, to give state workers more time to consider the new wage offer.

This removes some of the pressure on government to quickly strike a deal or risk an immense labour action that could damage the economy even further.

Cosatu has more than 20 affiliated unions and claims nearly 2 million members.

No comments:

Slight decrease in number of fatal drownings in the Cape

There has been a slight decrease in the number of fatal drownings over the peak festive season, compared to last year. Accroding to the City...