S.Africa state workers could return to work -unions

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Tuesday September 07, 2010 11:27:08 AM GMT

* Strikers may soon return to work

* Unions will continue to discuss offer

By Peroshni Govender

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 6 (Reuters) - South African public sector workers, on strike for nearly a month, may soon return to work but continue talks on whether to accept an increased government wage offer, union sources said on Monday.

The strike is now in its fourth week and has seen 1.3 million workers in key sectors including education, healthcare and the judiciary walk off the job demanding a double inflation 8.6 percent pay rise and a 1,000 rand ($135) a month housing allowance.

"The strike must end, we want workers to return to their posts but consultations to continue. We will need to convince other unions," said one union official.

Another union official said striking workers were divided on accepting the offer.

"Members are still divided on whether to accept the offer but we don't see any reason why they can't go to work while we continue our deliberations," said the union official, who declined to be named.

Union bosses are scheduled to meet each other and then government negotiators on Monday and an announcement on whether to suspend the strike action is expected later in the day.

The decision was supposed to have been made public on Sunday but some big unions had not yet received mandates from members on how to proceed.

President Jacob Zuma's government raised its offer to 7.5 percent and 800 rand for the housing allowance last week but workers rejected the deal and unions asked for more time to explain the offer to their members.

Government officials said the state cannot afford the offer they have already put on the table and there is no more room in the budget to increase its offer, which would swell state spending by about 1 percent.

Economists predict that the labour action is costing the economy about 1 billion rand a day. (Reporting by Peroshni Govender; Editing by Marius Bosch and Giles Elgood)

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