Public service union to occupy government offices till wages demands are met

The National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (Nupsaw) said it members will embark on a national day of action on Monday.

Nupsaw represents more than 80,000 public servants in the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) for the past 20 years.

According to Nupsaw national organiser Solly Malema, over 500 protesters will take part in a march which will start from the office of the Gauteng premier in Johannesburg and move to Pretoria in the afternoon.

“Public servants, community health workers and others will be participating in this protest. We are expecting more than 500 people to take part.

“If we don’t get any progress out of this, we are planning to intensify our actions, meaning we will occupy the department of public service and administration (DPSA) until our demands are met.”
“We will occupy the premier’s office until our demands are met,” he said.

Malema indicated that Nupsaw is against the proposal that says public servants can get an increase in wage from 2024.

He also noted that the union has several other demands they want the government to resolve.

“We are going to demonstrate to demand the implementation of clause 3.3 of the PSCBC resolution 1 of 2018, which talks about public servant wage increases for the period 2020/21.”
“We are saying they must fill vacant positions within departments and stop using the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) to exploit workers,” he said.

Malema disclosed that they will takeover government departments until their demands are heard and met.

“Nupsaw is ready to fight for its members’ rights, those who are at the forefront of the Covid-19 pandemic, by bringing the public health care system to its knees until government implements the public service employee’s salary increases as per the signed PSCBC agreement.”