Africa-Press – Gambia. A public sector stay-away is expected to affect car licencing offices and border posts, eNCA reports. This comes as wage negotiations between government and public sector unions remain at an impasse after workers rejected a proposed 3% increase, demanding a 6.5% rise instead. Workers also requested a R1,000 gratuity payment to continue beyond March 2023.
However, in his medium-term budget policy statement, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the public service wage bill would increase by 3.1%.
According to BusinessTech, negotiations stalled after government representatives refused to make concessions, leading to a collapse in talks. Subsequently, a certificate on non-resolution was issued for the following unions:
According to Eyewitness News, PSA spokesperson Claude Naicker warned that agreeing to government’s lower offer would set a bad precedent, saying: “There’s no use negotiating. This will set the tone for future negotiations in the public sector as well as the rest of the country but as I said, we are in full-blown mode.”
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