Public sector unions have condemned government’s “lax and indifferent” approach to wage negotiations‚ after it failed to present workers with a wage offer almost three months into the talks.
The unions have also described government negotiators’ excuses for not reporting back as “frivolous”.
The negotiators were meant to provide feedback to labour’s demands last Thursday following a prior postponement‚ but claimed they had not received a mandate from their government employers.
In a joint statement issued on Monday‚ the unions warned that if the government does not keep its promise of returning to talks on December 7‚ workers would be antagonised.
“We demand that when they come back on the December 7‚ 2017‚ they must have a solid and coherent response‚ because failure to do so will antagonise the workers and force us to exercise our rights‚” the statement read.
The unions have also criticised proposed salary hikes of 4-8% for public office bearers‚ saying they expected public servants to be afforded the same consideration‚ as they earned far less than the leaders of government.
They were also not happy with government’s various presentations to parliament on the public sector wage bill‚ saying it amounted to negotiating through the media.
“We are not averse to confrontation if provoked‚ and if they continue on this path‚ the pushback will be ferocious and ugly. Difficult or hostile negotiations will not serve anyone‚ let alone the economy – so they must stop negotiating in bad faith‚” the unions’ statement said.
- BusinessLIVE
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