The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) says it will go ahead with the planned public service protected strike from today despite a government interdict preventing it.

On the weekend, the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) was granted an interdict to prevent Nehawu from joining a planned ‘indefinite’ strike which had already been scheduled for today.

Nehawu national spokesperson Lwazi Nkolonzi told The Witness that it filed an appeal against the interdict yesterday, ‘which legally meant the interdict was suspended until the appeal was heard,’ said Nkolonzi.

“We submitted the appeal at 15:30 yesterday, the appeal allows us to continue to strike while we wait for a response. This is within the labour law.”

The strike action has been planned owing to the failed wage negotiations for 2022/23 which resulted in a certificate of non-resolution being issued in November last year.

However, government wanted the unions to go back to the Bargaining Chamber to negotiate and resolve the matters through dialogue.

According to Nehawu, the government continued to push public servants to accept extreme poverty, worsening inequality and unprecedented unemployment.

“After butchering public servants in 2020/21, 2021/22, and the financial year of 2022/23, the government expect public servants to accede to a pathetic 3% wage increase that was unilaterally implemented after the majority of public servants at the Public Service Coordinating Council (PSCBC) have rejected it. Indeed, this shows that the government is hellbent on collapsing collective bargaining, reversing the gains of workers and undermining workers’ rights.

“As if these were not enough, the government is currently offering public servants an insulting 0.5% salary increment for the upcoming financial year, using a tactic to mislead public service workers and the public that they are offering 4.7%, whereas they have taken the gratuity money that workers have been receiving to the baseline, translating into a wage freeze.

“This forms part of the broader onslaught by the government through the implementation of its neo-liberal policy of austerity which has a ripple effect on our members, workers in general and the broader working class,” Nehawu general secretary Zola Saphetha said in a statement.

Nehawu said its demands are a 10% wage increase, R2 500 housing allowance, bursary scheme for children of public servants and pay progression to be introduced beyond last notch.

“Review PSCBC Resolution 7 of 2015: Clause 4.5.6.5.3 which proposed that it be amended to say those who resign or are dismissed shall be entitled to receive their accumulated savings.”