Pretoria - Government has put contingency plans in place to ensure services do not grind to a halt when public servants affiliated to Cosatu down tools on Tuesday.
Government has established strike management teams across all departments and if the need arises, contract workers, interns and senior management services will step in in critical priority areas and manage frontline services, according to Dumisani Nkwamba, spokesperson for the Department of the Public Service and Administration.
He said while government did not want to underestimate the possible magnitude of the strike, he was confident that the delivery of services would continue and that departments would find ways to continue operating.
The COSATU Public Service Unions and the Independent Labour Caucus (ILC) last week rejected the revised offer tabled by government at the Public Service Bargaining and Co-ordinating Council.
The revised offer included a 7% increase, an unchanged housing allowance of R630 and a fixed pay progression of 1.5 %. This amounts to a total average contribution of 9% for public servants at salary level 1 to 12.
According to the unions, around 1.3 million of its members are expected to take to the streets and march to Parliament in Cape Town and the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Nkwamba said while government had put its final offer on the table there was still room for further engagement with the unions.
Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal schools have earned the praise of the MEC for Education Senzo Mchunu for planning ahead to minimise the impact of the strike.
"We are aware that some individual schools have put contingency plans in place to make up for the time lost as a result of the strike action. We wish to extend our heartfelt appreciation to them, for putting the interest of the child at the centre," Mchunu said.
The MEC urged all pupils to be school on time, even if their teachers were not at school, and to use the time profitably by concentrating on revision work.
He also called on parents to assist schools in whatever way they could.
