“It will start from August 20 and will continue until a favourable agreement is reached,” said CWU general secretary Gallant Roberts.<\/p>\n
The union members would embark on a national stayaway and pickets at the SA Post Office (SAPO) in each of the nine provinces and hand over memorandums detailing their grievances.<\/p>\n
Roberts said the union was expected to convene meetings on August 27 with members to assess developments and consider a way forward.<\/p>\n
“We have told the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration that we are only prepared to meet with the employer on August 21 and August 24,” said Roberts.<\/p>\n
“This is a full blown industrial action and workers will not go back until the demands are met.”<\/p>\n
The union received a CCMA certificate to embark on a protected strike on Monday and it gave the SAPO a 48-hour notice of compliance.<\/p>\n
Roberts said workers wanted an eradication of the “apartheid wage gap” within the post office. He said black workers were earning the lowest salaries.<\/p>\n
“It is now more than ten years that we as workers in South Africa have been enjoying the least of the rewards of our hard-fought-for democracy, a matter that CWU is not prepared totolerate any longer,” he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
John Wentzel, SAPO’s chief operating officer, said the certificate of a protected strike had been acknowledged.<\/p>\n
“The issue upon which the certificate has been issued relates to salary differentials within the various salary bands.”<\/p>\n
The issue had been under discussion with the CWU since 2002\/3.<\/p>\n
“We believe that SAPO has substantively addressed this issue, however the current dispute relates to that component which remains unaddressed. The situation has its roots in history and there are a number of causes for the salary differentials,” said Wentzel.<\/p>\n
He said it would be “simplistic” to look at the issue as one of race.<\/p>\n
“We as SAPO remain committed to dialogue, notwithstanding CWU’s intention to embark on industrial action and we hope that the situation can be speedily resolved through dialogue,” Wentzel said.<\/p>\n