PHUTI MOSOMANE
THE Academic and Professional Staff Association (APSA) general secretary professor Boitumelo Senokoane says the union is preparing its members at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University to embark on a strike action on Thursday.
The union decided to embark on a strike action for wage increases after they were granted a certificate of non-resolution following a declaration of dispute that came after 3 months of wage negotiations and mediation by the CCMA failed to resolve the wage dispute.
“The employer is intransigent, unwilling to move from their initial offer of 5.7%. Our members mandated us to demand 7%, based on the assessment of the rising cost of living. Inflation remains elevated above 7% in the past few months, and the South African Reserve Bank has forecasted an average 6,2% inflation rate for 2023. Given the elevated risks of inflation, the annualised average forecast by SARB may be an under-forecast,” Senokoane said.
Senokoane said based on the average inflation forecast of 7,2%, a 5,7% offered by Sefako Makgatho University management will amount to a wage decline of 1,5% in real terms.
“APSA opposes this real decline, hence we insist on a 7% increase. The offer by the University will diminish the buying power of our workers in the context of inflation,” he said, adding that as per SMU strike policy, the employer has been given 48 hours’ notice and the protest action will be on Thursday.
INSIDE POLITICS
