Public sector unions affiliated to trade union federations, Cosatu, the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) say they will embark on a one-day strike on Tuesday demanding higher pay.
The planned industrial action sets the stage for a long strike. Unions demand an inflation-beating 10% pay rise and the government is sticking to its 3% offer, implemented unilaterally in October as it tries to rein in public spending.
Tuesday’s strike is expected to affect border control, revenue collection and police services. Two days later there will be a march to the National Treasury.
On the day of the public worker strike, President Cyril Ramaphosa begins a two-day trip to the UK where he is due to meet King Charles. This is the first state reception of the king’s reign.
While in the UK, Ramaphosa is expected to be holding talks on issues such as trade, sanctions against Zimbabwe and the recent US alert about a possible terror attack in SA.
In party politics, the ANC electoral committee, headed by former president Kgalema Motlanthe, is set to publish a consolidated list of the top three candidates that have made it on the ballot of its internal leadership contest in December. The top three candidates represent ANC members who have received enough nominations from party members to contest leadership positions. The party also allows nominations from the conference floor provided they receive the support from 25% of the over 4,000 delegates.
The ANC in the Western Cape is expected to host its provincial conference this week, which has been delayed three times. The Western Cape will be represented by 283 delegates at the party’s national conference, its biggest delegation in five years.
The ANC’s biggest voting bloc, KwaZulu-Natal, will send 877 delegates to the conference. The province has thrown its weight behind former health minister Zweli Mkhize as party president.
The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein will hand down judgment in former president Jacob Zuma’s medical parole appeal. Zuma and the department of correctional services are appealing against an earlier Gauteng High Court ruling setting aside the decision by former correctional services commissioner Arthur Fraser, to grant Zuma medical parole.
“It’s not president Zuma that had applied for the medical parole it is the government itself. It is the correctional services who initiated the process and they saw it through ... whether the decision is wrong or right that can't be Zuma's problem,” says Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi.
In parliament, ministers in the economic cluster will be answering questions in the National Assembly.
The National Assembly will debate the General Laws (Anti Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Bill. The legislation is intended to address legislative deficiencies identified by the financial action task force (FATF). Adoption of the bill by parliament before it goes to recess early in December is important to improve SA’s chances of avoiding greylisting when the FATF plenary meets in February to take a decision on this.
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