HOSPERSA DISTANCES ITSELF FROM SHUTDOWN OF PUBLIC FACILITIES AMID WAGE INCREASE UNCERTAINTY
Hospersa, which represents more than 50 000 public servants [predominately health workers] has distanced itself from statements made by the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (NUPSAW) threatening to shut down public facilities if workers do not receive their salary increases. Government has requested to review clause 3.3 of the PSCBC Resolution 1 of 2018 which talks to public servants wage increases for 2020/21 citing that it cannot afford public servants’ salary adjustments to be effected on 1 April 2020. Hospersa and NUPSAW together with the National Teachers Union (NATU) are in a working together agreement at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) representing more than 100 000 public service employees.
According to recent reports, labour union NUPSAW has threatened a national shutdown of public facilities should government fail to implement public servants’ salary increases as per clause 3.3 of the PSCBC Resolution 1 of 2018. Government and labour unions met at the PSCBC last week Tuesday, 17 February 2020, where again government proposed a 0% increase. Unions at the PSCBC rejected this proposal and highlighted their expectations for increases to be implemented as follows:
Level 1 to 7: Projected CPI + 1.0%
Level 8 to 10: Projected CPI + 0.5%; and
Level 11 to 12: Projected CPI
* Projected CPI = 4.4%
While Hospersa, NATU and NUPSAW are in a working together agreement at the PSCBC, Hospersa and NATU have distanced themselves from statements threatening a national shutdown of public facilities.
“Hospersa would like to put it on record that we distance ourselves from the threats made by NUPSAW,” said Hospersa Public Relations Officer, Kevin Halama. “We are also conscious of the current health crisis that the country is battling with where our members are at the coldface of the pandemic. While failure by the state to implement our members’ well-deserved salary increases in April would be demoralising, we cannot ignore the call by the State President to put the country first and deal with the COVID-19 crisis,” concluded Halama.
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