The government has entered a last-ditch conciliation process with unions in the public service. Meanwhile, unions are picketing amid ongoing talks, indicating an appetite to follow the Public Servants Association and serve the state with notice of intention to strike. The PSA will officially begin their first public service strike in over a decade, with a "stayaway" on Wednesday, and a full-blown strike set to follow next Thursday. Meanwhile, several other public service unions hold pickets while they are in conciliation talks with the government at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council. This comes after acting Public Service and Administration Minister Thulas Nxesi invoked Section 5 of the Public Service Act to unilaterally implement a 3% wage increase in the public service. This was reaffirmed in Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's medium-term budget last week, which projected growth averaging 3.1% per year in the public service wage bill. Nxesi's move prompted the Cosatu bloc of unions to revert to their 10% wage increase demand. The PSA is set to go on strike, with an estimated 235 000 members, and thousands more from other unions may join in downing tools if conciliation processes fail.
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