Unions reject mediators’ proposal

‘The 7.25% that is reported to be an offer coming from the mediators is not substantially different from the 6% that the government has offered for weeks now,’ Cosatu general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said in Cape Town, says a report on The Citizen site. He added: ‘I think that the union movement is ready to engage, but on the basis that (there) is a serious offer placed on the table by the government.’ He said unions had revised their demands from 12 to 10% while the government was increasing its offer by barely noticeable increments. Full report on The Times site

Three unions have vowed to join the strike tomorrow (Wednesday) – even though they have not given a seven-day notice as required by law. The National Union of Mine Workers (NUM), the SA Municipal Workers\' Union (Samwu) and the SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers\' Union (Saccawu) confirmed that they would be joining the public servants strike, says The Star. At the same time, Cosatu has made its intentions to intensify the strike action clear, saying all its 22 affiliate unions have indicated they are ready to down tools tomorrow. ‘They have come up with an offer of 7.25% and we would never go down to that level. It\'s madness and cruel. We have already had a fall by 2%, while government is sitting on its offer of 6.5%,’ Cosatu president Willy Madisha said. Full report in The Star

Samwu, however, faces court action. The SA Local Government Association (Salga) has brought an urgent application in the Labour Court – to be heard today – to stop municipal workers joining the strike. However, Samwu remains determined to join the strike, according to a report on the IoL site. However, should the court decide to stop the strike, ‘we would have other options,’ said Samwu general secretary Mthandeki Nhlapo. He would not disclose the nature of these options, explaining that they would ‘depend on the nature of the judgment. Full report on the IoL site

The KwaZulu-Natal transport alliance will also join the strike tomorrow. An SABC News report quotes its chairperson, Eugene Hadebe, as saying the decision was unanimously taken by leaders of various association affiliates to heed a call by Cosatu for their support. He has vowed they will bring the province to a standstill. Full SABC News report