Cape Town - The city centre was a hive of activity ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget speech as numerous public sector unions took to the streets to express their anger over the government’s failure to pay workers in the country’s public sector a “liveable wage” and its breach of their 2018 wage agreement.
Members of Cosatu, the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and their affiliates gathered in Cape Town to picket for Godongwana to include their desired 10% wage increase for workers in his Budget.
Participating unions included the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru), the South African Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu), the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa), the South African Policing Union (Sapu) and more.
Saftu national organiser Lebohang Phanyeko said: “This is the first time in history where Cosatu and Saftu are united like this, which clearly demonstrates our anger. If government decides not to give in to workers, we are left with no option but to mobilise all public service workers for a full-blown indefinite strike until the employer comes to its knees.”
He also called on the government to open more vacancies as those in education, policing, health care and more were working under pressure because of the austerity budget.
Dr Cedric Sihlangu, national general secretary of Samatu, said they also sought to raise the plight of unemployed doctors and potential public service workers because public services were failing to deliver, largely because of an understaffed public service sector.
Denosa president Simon Hlungwani said they had received a certificate of non-resolution which was issued on Wednesday and it would take seven days to be effective, and that public servants were going on an indefinite strike.
“We are giving government this opportunity over the next seven days to come and give us a better offer.
“In 2020 public servants received a 0% increase, in 2021 public servants received only 1.5% increase when inflation was 5.4%, in 2022 government decided to give a unilateral increase of 3% when we know inflation was high in 2020, 2021 and last year - that 3% did not even come to half of the inflation we had,” he said.
Hlungwani said the rising prices of food, fuel and the cost of living was too high to accept the government’s failure to pay workers a living wage.
In his speech, Godongwana said: “As for the wage negotiations that just commenced, the Budget does not pre-empt the outcomes. Nevertheless, this and future wage negotiations must strike a balance between fair pay, fiscal sustainability, and the need for additional staff in front-line services.”
He said an unbudgeted wage settlement would require significant trade-offs in government spending as the wage bill was a significant cost driver.
Joining the union action was the Healthy Living Alliance (Heala) and its partners who demanded an increase in the sugary drinks tax to 20%, this was supported by a flash mob of eight high school pupils emerging from the crowd, moving to the front while dancing and being “chased” by giant suits of cola, fruit juice and energy drink.
Enkosi Stofile, a youth member of the campaign, said: “The finance minister should increase the sugary drinks tax, and the sugary drinks industry should stop targeting children because it’s harmful to our health.
“They create adverts and packages that makes us want to drink sugary drinks. Increased tax will make sugary drinks more expensive, in this way we can avoid them. We could use the little money we save to buy healthy food.
Also demonstrating was Extinction Rebellion Cape Town and fellow members of the StopEACOP coalition against multinational banks’ support for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline project (EACOP) in Uganda and Tanzania.
The members staged a protest outside the Standard Bank Business Centre in Cape Town by pouring “oil” over themselves and calling on the bank to not fund the EACOP.
Extinction Rebellion Cape Town spokesperson Jacqui Tooke said financial institutions investing in fossil fuel projects were choosing to invest in public ill-health, polluted rivers and air, and an unliveable future that has been destroyed by climate collapse.
