Pretoria - Government has given the unions until tomorrow to sign on the current public sector salary increase offer of 7 percent, failing which the offer will be implemented.
Following weeks of marathon talks, Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi on Wednesday said government would no longer afford any more negotiations to increase the current offer which also includes a R700 housing allowance and annual 1.5 pay progression linked to performance.
The unions, who are demanding a wage hike of 8.6 percent and R1000 a month housing allowance, have rejected the government's offer and have subsequently embarked on an indefinite strike from Wednesday. At the current offer, the increases are expected to cost the state an additional R5 billion.
"We have demonstrated for all to see that our capacity to afford is all exhausted...We have put an offer on the table and it is now a draft resolution and having done all we had, what is clear now is that we need to move on. We need extra money that we simply do not have in the budget," Baloyi said.
The unions had 21 days to sign on the wage offer, which he said was now a resolution of the Public Service Bargaining Council.
"We are saying as the employer, the call for a strike at the moment where children are due to sit for exams, where South Africans are demanding acceleration of services, we are saying a strike at this time is unfortunate for the country, workers and leaders irrespective of where they find themselves.
"I am calling on South Africans and the striking union members for sanity to prevail, we expect that as people enjoy their right to strike, there will be no obstruction to services and we will not accept any anarchy," added Baloyi who earlier described the mass action as unfortunate.
He further said while the constitution acknowledged the workers' right to strike, government will not hesitate to deploy all its security forces to ensure that there was no "anarchy".
He said government has committed itself to engage more on the issue of housing allowance and talks would include facilitation of home ownership.
