IF YOU plan to visit a government office for a particular service anywhere in the country today, there is a good chance it could turn into a frustrating experience if their computer systems go on the blink.
That’s because staff members of the state entity responsible for resolving IT problems at Home Affairs, Sassa and other service providing government agencies have embarked on strike action.
The State Information Technology Agency’s (Sita’s) more than 2000 employees will be downing tools until their employers table a more suitable wage increase for 2024.
In the past week, the Sita’s more than 800 Gauteng-based workers staged lunch-hour pickets in disapproval of a wage offer.
KZN’s nearly 100 Sita employees are largely based in Springfield, Durban.
Unions representing the workers called for a wage increase in excess of 12% but their bosses were only prepared to part with 3.5%.
Unions sought assistance from the CCMA in rejecting the offer.
The Sita upped their offer to 4.5%, which was also rejected by the workers.
This led to further negotiations between those acting for the Sita and union representatives, but the talks were not effective enough to end the deadlock.
Claude Naiker, the acting deputy general manager of the Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA), said the Sita didn’t expect the workers' discontent would escalate to strike action.
Nearly 1300 of the Sita’s employees were affiliated to the PSA.
“The employers were not taking us seriously because the picketing at lunchtime didn't affect their services, plus they have employees who are working remotely as well.
“Workers have agreed to a national shutdown, even the ones working remotely will down tools,” said Naiker.
He said they met with the employer on Wednesday and were presented a draft for a multi-term agreement with no figures on it.
“We proposed that we will consider a multi-term agreement from the Sita, provided the increase in year one`was not less than 7.5%, and we are open to negotiations for the second and third years.
“But we’ve received no feedback yet.”
Naiker said the impasse was due to the Sita “not coming to the party”.
“We had no other option. But we are still open to negotiations.
“They will realise the impact of the shutdown.”
He asked that the Sita urgently reconsider their position and make an equitable offer for their members to consider.
Tlali Tlali, the Sita’s head of corporate affairs, confirmed receipt of the notice from the PSA regarding the intention to strike on a daily basis from October 9.
“Since the commencement of the industrial action, the Sita activated its contingency plans to mitigate the impact of the industrial action on service delivery to government. The plans include reconstituting structures responsible for operational oversight and business continuity.
“To date, there has not been any service delivery failure occasioned by the industrial action. Our business continuity measures will remain in place and the Sita’s clients and stakeholders will be kept abreast with regular updates on the state of our operations.”
As a state-owned company, Tlali said the Sita was the back end office of government ICT, and the agency was responsible for developing, operating, and maintaining ICT services consumed by government.
“This means the provisioning of certain ICT services to government may not be interrupted by employees on the ground upon embarking on an industrial action.”
He assured the Sita’s leadership would spare no effort in working towards resolving the impasse and finding a lasting solution on the disputed issues.
He confirmed that the Sita invited the PSA to yet another meeting on Wednesday, but a breakthrough could not be reached.
“Other avenues are currently being explored and updates on these will be communicated once the outcomes are known,” he said.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE