Revenue collection at the country’s ports of entry and in various offices internally is set to be disrupted when the two largest unions at the SA Revenue Service (Sars) down tools next week in support of their demand for higher wages.
The Public Servants Association (PSA), and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) said their members will embark on a “full-blown strike” for above-inflation wages at the tax collection agency.
The two unions represent the majority of the estimated 12,400 employees at Sars, which in April reported a R16.7bn surplus in revenue from what was estimated in the February budget. A total of R1.56-trillion was collected, representing a 25% year-on-year increase.
Nehawu spokesperson Lwazi Nkolonzi said the Cosatu affiliate was demanding an 11.5% wage increase, above the headline inflation rate of 5.8% the Reserve Bank has forecast for 2022, while the employer has offered a 0% increase.
In a document that Business Day has seen, the PSA is demanding consumer price inflation “as of October 2021 [5%] plus 7% for all employees across the board”, which translates into a 12% wage demand.
The PSA is also demanding a R2,000 “token of appreciation” for its members, and bursaries for dependents of employees earning R700,000 per annum or below.
In a letter to Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter, dated May 11 which Business Day has seen, PSA general manager Marcus Ramakgale said because the wage dispute remained unresolved, the union was serving the employer with a strike notice, with the industrial action set to commence “on or after May 19”.
PSA assistant general manager Reuben Maleka said on Monday it had been resolved that the “full-blown strike” would start on May 25, the same day as Nehawu’s action.
“The employer has tabled a 0% wage offer, arguing that there is no money and cited the austerity measures from Treasury,” Nkolonzi said.
“We tried to engage the employer at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration but we could not reach an agreement. We were then issued with a certificate of non-resolution, a strike certificate.”
“Sars’ ridiculous offer of a 0% wage increase throughout the negotiations when the prices of basic services, food, fuel and electricity continue to increase at inflationary rates is an insult to our members. How are they expected to make ends meets in such an environment?” Fedusa general secretary Riefdah Ajam said, calling on finance minister Enoch Godongwana to intervene.
She said the 0% offer would serve to deepen the plight of Sars workers who have had their conditions of service changed unilaterally over the past three years. This included the employer’s refusal to implement the final leg of a three-year wage agreement that was signed in 2018.
“This is the height of negotiating in bad faith which does not contribute to healing the worsening trust deficit between workers and the employer throughout the public service.” She said Godongwana's intervention would avoid a shutdown of services at Sars.
However, the PSA said it remained committed to engage should the tax collection agency place a better offer on the table.
The government has been trying to slash the wage bill which has been increasing rapidly over the years. It is expected to surge to R702bn in 2024/2025, and has been described by ratings agencies as one of the biggest risks to the country’s finances.
The PSA and Nehawu were among public service unions that took the government to the Constitutional Court after it refused to implement the final part of a three-year wage agreement signed in 2018.
In February, Concourt acting judge Mjabuliseni Isaac Madondo ruled that the government did not have to implement the last leg of the pay hike deal as the unions were “unjustifiably enriched” from the “impugned collective agreement”.
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