A groundbreaking multi-year agreement that municipalities concluded with their workers last year, possibly averting major strikes over a three-year period, could fall flat – on issues unrelated to salary disputes.
While the SA Local Government Association (Salga) described last year’s agreement on annual salary increases as historic, in that it “provided a platform for stability and certainty for the forthcoming years”, unions seem to disagree, and this could lead to a strike that the employer had hoped would not happen in the near future.
Most unions seem aggrieved by the main collective agreement, which covers terms and conditions of employment, as well as a wage curve aimed at creating pay parity in the sector.
Attempts to negotiate have failed over the past month, with Salga saying unions have “decided to abandon the negotiations without justifiable reasons”, and unions accusing the employer of not negotiating in good faith.
Salga could not immediately be reached for comment.
In a statement posted on its website, the SA Municipal Workers Union said Salga had “deliberately dragged their feet for years to avoid reaching an agreement on the wage curve and other matters”.
Unions want employers to raise workers’ housing subsidies or homeowner allowances from around R400 to match the public sector, which was paying about R900 for the same benefit. - The Star
