Union anger mounts over government ‘lies’

The war of words came as the strike, by members of both the Congress of SA Trade Unions and the Independent Labour Caucus, entered its seventh day.

“The situation is unchanged... many schools and hospitals are affected by the strike,” government spokesman Themba Maseko said on Tuesday morning.

“No-one is more worried about what is happening in our hospitals and schools than the government.”

He said on Monday that the government’s offer of a seven percent increase was in “real terms” actually 8.5 percent—a mere tenth of a percent short of what unions wanted. This was because the increase offer was bolstered by a 1.5 percent pay progression.

However, enraged unions said on Tuesday that the pay progression was actually part of an old agreement about performance appraisals signed in 2003.

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) said in a statement: “Nehawu is deeply disturbed by the outright lies that government has told the people of South Africa that there is an 8.5 percent wage increase offer that has been presented to the unions.

“There is no offer that was tabled at the PSCBC [Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council], a democratic institution set up for negotiations.”

SA Democratic Teachers’ Union deputy general secretary Nkosana Dolopi said the government was being dishonest.

“That is not a new offer from the government. Its offer is still seven percent. The government is just misleading the public.”

Dolopi was confident the unions would get results soon.

“We are continuing... it can’t be that they are not a

responsible government... when people are dying in hospitals and children are not going to school... what kind of government would allow that?,” he asked.

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA “utterly condemned” what it called the government’s “propaganda”.

The 210,000-strong Public Servants Association (PSA) expressed “extreme concern” at this “distribution of incorrect information”. Spokesman Manie de Clercq said the pay progression was a notch increment for deserving workers.

“Employees who qualify for this increment are therefore entitled to receive it, irrespective of what the annual general increase for public servants will be for 2010,” said De Clercq.

“The ministry is clearly grasping at straws and is seeking to artificially inflate its meagre offer.”

Meanwhile, the defence force continued to fill gaps at hospitals hit by the strike. It said on Tuesday that some 1700 soldiers had been deployed at 42 state hospitals.

The SA National Military Veterans’ Association said it would also deploy its members.

Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane told her legislature that at least 53 premature babies were left unattended in hospitals in the province on Monday. This was because striking workers had forced nursing staff to leave their posts, she said.

“Some of the babies were literally locked in the wards with no one bothering to make alternative arrangements for their care.”

The KwaZulu-Natal health department said it had transferred 319 patients to private hospitals after they were left unattended by striking public servants. This would cost the province about R1 million.

Premier Zweli Mkhize said most of them were from the greater Durban area.

He said there was a high level of intimidation of non-striking workers at almost all greater Durban hospitals.

Five strikers were arrested on Tuesday for disrupting traffic in Hoffman Square, Bloemfontein, while protesting over wages, Free State police said.

There were small groups of picketing workers at the Universitas and Pelonomi Hospitals in the city, and groups of striking workers visited city schools in the morning.

Free State health spokesman Jabu Mbalula said the strike was definitely affecting services, but that all hospitals were “still working”.

Mbalula said many nursing staff felt threatened. “Many workers at work get intimidating phone calls.”

In the Western Cape, provincial authorities said support for the strike continued to dwindle.

Education MEC Donald Grant said only 70 schools, or 4.8 percent of the province’s total, were closed on Tuesday morning with 14.8 percent of teachers absent from work.

On Friday, the ministry said eight percent of the total were closed and just under 20 percent of all teachers absent.

The provincial health ministry said 157 of its 28,067 employees were on strike on Tuesday. This figure was down 0.2 percent on Monday’s 0.7 percent.

“The full complement of services could continue in the sense that there are enough staff to deliver services,” it said in a statement.

“However, service delivery has been affected because of picketing that is deterring patients from visiting health facilities.”