PSA to embark on indefinite strike at Sars against ‘paltry’ 1.39% salary offer

The Public Servants Association (PSA) says its members at the SA Revenue Service (Sars) will resume an indefinite national strike action on Tuesday.

The PSA said this was after the parties failed to resolve the wage negotiations deadlock and the union’s members rejected the employer’s 1.39% salary increase offer.

In May, the PSA — which represents more than 5,400 Sars employees — embarked on lunchtime pickets, followed by marches across the country on May 25 and 26.

It then temporarily suspended the strike to allow members to digest the offer made by Sars and allow the employer to further consider the revised offer made.

“These employees who collected an additional R17bn in revenue are ‘rewarded’ with (a) paltry 1.39% salary increase offer. Eskom employees received a 7% salary increase despite the country experiencing some of the worst load-shedding in recent history,” PSA said in a statement on Monday.

The association also said government office bearers received a backdated salary increase of 3%.

“It is inconceivable that the country relies on Sars to collect revenue but does not want to pay these employees for their good work and offers an insignificant salary increase,” the union said.

It called on finance minister Enoch Godongwana to urgently allocate additional funding for the Sars budget to allow for a salary increase that is representative of the performance of employees during the past financial year.

“The current offer by SARS is equal to a declaration of war by the employer, and workers will have no option but to reciprocate as the battle lines are drawn.”

Meanwhile the union, which represents more than 235,000 public-sector employees, said public servants have rejected the employer’s final salary increase offer of 2%.

It said this offer was tabled by the employer during a public service co-ordinating bargaining council special meeting last Thursday.

“The PSA regards the offer as offensive to employees who have not received a real salary increase for the past three years”

The union said the petrol price has reached record levels, with a ripple effect on the cost of living.

“Inflation and interest rates also increased in recent months. The offer is misaligned with reality. It has been the norm to plead poverty when it comes to public service employees but more open-handed for state-owned entities, which must come to an end.”

PSA said it cannot continue engaging with employers who show no regard for their employees and fail to table reasonable salary offers.

“The offered 2% is not even worthy to be taken to members who clearly mandated the PSA to negotiate a real salary increase, and anything below the CPI cannot be considered as an increase.”

The PSA called on  Godongwana to intervene and ensure tangible offers are tabled to prevent agitated employees from embarking on disabling industrial action.

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