Public servants strike

An estimated 600,000 South African public servants, including professionals and manual labourers, on Tuesday embarked on a protest action in support of their demand for a 7.3 percent annual wage increase following a deadlock in bitter negotiations started seven months ago. The protest action is the first of its kind in post-apartheid South Africa that unites government employees organised in 12 unions who complain that their pay rises have not kept up with the pace of inflation, estimated at 8.2 percent. The action is expected to affect the functioning of hospitals, schools, prisons and possibly the police service. An official at Johannesburg General Hospital, one of the biggest in South Africa, told IRIN on Tuesday: "Although no disruption has occurred, services have slowed down especially in the cleaning and catering sections at the hospital because the majority of the support staff have not reported for work." She, however, added that the nursing staff did not join the action. Many schools were closed on Tuesday and children stayed home as their teachers joined the protest action. A parent with two primary school children told IRIN: "We were informed a week ago by the school that there won't be classes on Tuesday because teachers would be on strike in support of wage demands." According to trade union officials, the focus of the protest action would be at the Union Buildings in the capital, Pretoria, which houses President Thabo Mbeki's office. Up to 100,000 protesters were expected to congregate to hand over memorandums to the government rejecting wage increases of 6.3 percent. News reports, however, said the police service union decided on Monday to withdraw from Tuesday's action after fears were expressed that a work stoppage by police officers might increase the already high rates of crime. The union's general secretary reportedly said their members would instead hold lunch hour pickets outside police stations. The public sector strike follows in the heels of another dispute involving more than 20,000 telecommunications and post office workers who had embarked on a one-week strike in support of a 14 percent wage increase. The strike was settled after the Communications Workers Union and the parastatals Telkom and South African Post Office agreed on average 10 percent wage increases.