The government will not budge from its offer of a 6.5% increase to the public service sector.

Briefing the media in Pretoria on Friday, Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi urged the sector to accept the offer in the best interest of the country.

The current offer of the employer is for a salary increase of 6.5% with effect from July 1 and an increase in the housing allowance from R500 to R630 a month.

The government previously made an offer of an increase of R620 but has since amended it with an additional R10.

Baloyi said the government would continue with intensive political engagements with labour union leaders to avert a national strike.

He said that he met the leadership of the Congress of SA Trade Unions and the Independent Labour Caucus on Thursday and both sides agreed to resolve the dispute within the next seven days.

"The settlement that we are giving is a public interest settlement. We need to come to a point where we find each other, we can't pay what we can't afford."

Baloyi said the ink would dry on government's offer by Wednesday next week.

"We can't keep going backwards and forwards," he said.