RUSTENBURG, April 18 (ANA) - The SA Local Government Association (Salga) tabled its final salary offer to trade unions in the municipal sector, the local government body said on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Sivuyile Mbambato said Salga tabled a final offer of 6.6 percent supplemented by inflation linked increases in the outer years of a three wage deal.
"The final offer was presented by Salga with a view of seeking to secure an agreement with the unions at the negotiating table."
The fourth and final round of was held in Durban from April 16-18.
"The trade unions formally recorded their revised offer of eight percent across the board, a minimum wage of R7393 and significantly above inflation increases for year two and three of the agreement," Mbambato said.
"The unions further demanded that employees whose income is regarded as too low to access mortgage finance but also too high to qualify for RDP [low cost] housing, should receive a non-pensionable allowance of R378."
The unions also demanded that the threshold for this category of employees should be elevated from R8000 to R15,000.
The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) said it would be seeking a further mandate from workers following the fourth and final round of negotiations with the employer's representative.
Unions demanded a single year agreement at the beginning of salary negotiation in December last year, they also demanded 15 percent salary increase or R3150, whichever is greater, a minimum monthly salary of R10,000 minimum and R2,000 housing allowance amongst others.
"Following the presentation of the facilitator’s proposal, we will be consulting our members in the form of general meetings which will culminate into Special Provincial Executive Committees and a Special Central Executive Committee [CEC] meeting which would consolidate the position of the union," said general secretary Simon Mathe.
"The CEC is the structure which would mandate the union to either accept the offer or to lodge a dispute and sanction as strike action in line with the union constitution as the agreed number of negotiation rounds he now been exhausted."
Unions were expected to inform South African Local Government Bargaining Council of their decision to either accept or reject the facilitator’s proposal during May.
-African News Agency (ANA)
