The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) has accepted the SA Revenue Service’s (Sars's) wage and benefits offer, which brings to an end the first strike at the tax agency in a decade.
Nehawu was expected to sign a settlement agreement on Tuesday afternoon, and employees will be back at work on Wednesday.
Sars employees, represented by Nehawu and the Public Servants Association (PSA) embarked on a strike last week after wage and benefit negotiations reached deadlock.
The negotiations started in November and culminated in the strike, which affected contact centres, walk-in branches and, to a lesser extent, ports of entry.
The PSA signed the multi-term settlement agreement on Monday, which among others gave workers an 8% pay increase in 2019/2020, and an increase equivalent to the consumer price index (CPI) plus 2% in the second and third years of the agreement.
Nehawu said on Tuesday afternoon that it has concluded its consultation with its members and that the majority of its provinces had given the union a mandate to sign the settlement agreement.
“Nehawu reiterates its position that it is not happy with the multi-term agreement; hence, we still hold a strong view that a single-term agreement would have been more suitable to our members under the current economic conditions. In this regard, we shall continue to monitor its implementation and, where necessary, the union shall consider all possibilities to reopen the negotiations,” Nehawu’s secretariat said.
It also hit out at the PSA for signing the settlement agreement “while negotiations were still ongoing”.
“We find it unflattering that the same union that was ready to fight until the bitter end for Sars workers folded precipitately while we believed that the employer still had an opportunity to improve the offer presented on Sunday,” Nehawu said.
Nehawu accepts offer, officially ending Sars strike
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) has accepted the SA Revenue Service’s (Sars's) wage and benefits offer, which brings to an end the first strike at the tax agency in a decade.
Nehawu was expected to sign a settlement agreement on Tuesday afternoon, and employees will be back at work on Wednesday.
Sars employees, represented by Nehawu and the Public Servants Association (PSA) embarked on a strike last week after wage and benefit negotiations reached deadlock.
The negotiations started in November and culminated in the strike, which affected contact centres, walk-in branches and, to a lesser extent, ports of entry.
The PSA signed the multi-term settlement agreement on Monday, which among others gave workers an 8% pay increase in 2019/2020, and an increase equivalent to the consumer price index (CPI) plus 2% in the second and third years of the agreement.
Nehawu said on Tuesday afternoon that it has concluded its consultation with its members and that the majority of its provinces had given the union a mandate to sign the settlement agreement.
“Nehawu reiterates its position that it is not happy with the multi-term agreement; hence, we still hold a strong view that a single-term agreement would have been more suitable to our members under the current economic conditions. In this regard, we shall continue to monitor its implementation and, where necessary, the union shall consider all possibilities to reopen the negotiations,” Nehawu’s secretariat said.
It also hit out at the PSA for signing the settlement agreement “while negotiations were still ongoing”.
“We find it unflattering that the same union that was ready to fight until the bitter end for Sars workers folded precipitately while we believed that the employer still had an opportunity to improve the offer presented on Sunday,” Nehawu said.
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