The Labour Court of South Africa early this morning granted an interim interdict which effectively prohibits all members and employees of the South African Police Service (SAPS) from joining the ongoing and increasingly violent public service strike.

The interdict also prohibits the Police and Prisons Civil Right Organisation (POPCRU) from promoting, encouraging or supporting participation in a strike. Police spokesewoman Brigadier Sally de Bee says “employees of the SAPS, both those employed under the South African Police Service Act and those employed under the Public Service Act, may not - in terms of the SAPS Act and in terms of this interim interdict - withhold their labour or participate in strike action. Any contravention of this prohibition will lead to disciplinary action being taken, which may include summary dismissal from the police service.”

Employees of the South African Police Service render essential services to the community and are therefore prohibited from striking in terms of Section 65(1)(d) of the Labour Act of 1995, she says. The police approached the Labour Court for the urgent interdict when it became aware of pronouncement by POPCRU that they intended to join
the civil service strike.

POPCRU announced yesterday that about 145 000 police and traffic officers, together with prison warders, wanted to join the ongoing national public service strike from Saturday. The strike has seen hospital services, schools, courts and other public services disrupted for more than a week as workers demand an 8,6% salary increase and a
R1000 monthly housing allowance. Some 3000 soldiers and military medical personnel are now deployed at 47 state hospitals to ameliorate the impact of the industrial action.

Originally published by defenceWeb  

The Congress of South African Trade Unions said on Friday that a decision on government’s latest public sector wage offer will be made by Tuesday.

The South African government increased its offer to more than a million state workers in an effort to head off a mass strike, sources in the talks said on Thursday.

The government offered to increase the monthly housing allowance to R700 from R630, but kept its wage rise offer at 7%, the sources said. The unions are demanding an 8.6% pay rise and R1,000 for housing.

At the same time the labour federation reaffirmed their support for the public sector’s wage demand of 8,6%.

Patrick Craven - Cosatu spokesperson told Business Day that whilst union members will consider all offers, he maintained that the 8,6% demand for salaries is not a huge ask for the South African government.

“It (the increase) is no serious problem, the increase is the least of our worries,” Craven said.

Craven said the labour federation welcomed movement in wage talks after deadlocks were experienced earlier in the week, but added that union leadership will not take part in any decision made by workers.

“Its up to the members to decide if this is adequate - leadership will not influence their decision,” he said.

Among those threatening to walk off the job are customs and immigration officers, health workers, police and clerks.

Originally published by Business Day  

Johannesburg - About 200 000 members of the Public Servants Association (PSA) commenced a nation-wide strike on Thursday to press for better wages.

Marches and picketing were expected to take place countrywide, while Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi was scheduled to hold another round of talks with union leaders.

Public servants were demanding an 8.6% salary increase and a housing subsidy of R1 000, backdated to April 1.

The government was offering a 6.5% salary increase and a R620 housing subsidy with effect from July 1.

Public servants working in essential services sectors would not take part in the mass action, PSA's Cape Town manager Koos Kruger said earlier.

The SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) had also called on its members not to participate in the PSA action to prevent a disruption in classes.

Samwu gears up for water strike

The SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and its allies were preparing to strike after wage negotiations between them and their employer body failed, the union said on Friday.

South Africa's unemployment rate increased marginally to 25,3% in the second quarter, compared with the 25,2% recorded in the first quarter of the year, official data showed on Tuesday.

This was 1,7 percentage points higher than the unemployment rate of 23,6% in the second quarter of 2009.

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), which released its 'Quarterly Labour Force Survey' on Tuesday, indicated that unemployment remained virtually unchanged at 4,31-million.

However, the rate of job losses in South Africa is slowing, Stats SA reported, with 61 000 jobs lost in the second quarter of the year, compared with 171 000 jobs lost during the first quarter of the year.

Stats SA highlighted that the 0,5% contraction in employment between the first and second quarters was an improvement on the 1,6% contraction in employment recorded between the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year.

This was also an improvement on the 2% contraction in employment recorded between the first and second quarters of 2009.

However, labour federation the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) called the latest statistics a "national catastrophe", noting that this brought the total number of people who have lost their jobs since the beginning of last year to 1,1-million.