Emergency line crisis

South Africans' emergency lifeline - the 24-hour 10111 crime-reporting emergency call centre - might collapse when thousands of its employees march on police headquarters in Pretoria tomorrow.

This came as the National Union of Mineworkers last night rejected the Chamber of Mines's final pay offer for gold miners.

Gold-mining companies represented by the chamber had offered a basic increase of 6.5% for category four and five employees, including rock drill operators. The NUM was demanding R7000 a month for surface workers and R8000 a month for underground workers.

Meanwhile, emergency control centres and police stations could grind to a halt as more than 5000 SAPS administrative personnel converge on the police HQ.

The march has been organised by the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union.

There were nationwide marches by police administrative staff in May.

This march, according to Popcru, is over police management's refusal to implement a 2011 Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council agreement.

The agreement was about the incorporation of police administrative staff into the SAPS, which would improve their pay markedly. It could, for example, catapult clerks into the same salary bracket as police constables.

But to put it into effect the SAPS would have to spend R900-million a year more on salaries. Police management has told the union it does not have that kind of money.

If the agreement is signed, each administrative staff member would earn about R20000 more annually.

Of Popcru's members, 48000 are administrative.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale said personnel who were supposed to be on duty who joined the march would be regarded as participating in an unprotected strike and the 'no work; no pay principle' would apply. He said management had engaged Popcru and most of the issues raised had been addressed. A process was under way to resolve outstanding matters.

The National Union of Metalworkers of SA will meet tomorrow to decide on future action to take in light of the reports it has received from bargaining councils.

Workers that might be involved in a strike would be those at petrol stations, automotive retailers, panel-beaters, car and spare parts businesses, fitment workshops and truck body and trailer building concerns.

Wage negotiations in these sectors began in May but no agreement had been reached by last month.

Numsa is also involved in a strike in automotive manufacturing, in which 30000 workers have downed tools since last week.

The union will tomorrow consider feedback from its members and decide on the revised offer by employers, believed to be a 10% wage increase. Numsa wants a 14% hike.

The SA Airways strike entered its second day yesterday with SAA making a revised offer of 7%.

But the SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union refused to budge on its demand for a 12% wage increase.