It was a stark story of massive disruption at Sars as the National Health, Education and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) along with the Public Servants (PSA) entered their second day of strike action.
The Revenue Service’s executive for remuneration and benefits, Thakalani Musekwa, said at least 33 out of 53 walk-in branches countrywide had been affected as an estimated 90% of Sars’ work force downed tools yesterday.
In total it represented some 700 employees or the vast majority of Sars’ staff complement.
Musekwa added that South Africa’s Beitbridge border crossing into Zimbabwe was particularly hard hit with over-border crossings elsewhere also adversely affected by personnel not arriving for work.
In the meantime labour negotiators have dug in their heels, refusing to budge.
However, after the labour dispute came to a head on Wednesday, Nehawu and the PSA said they would in principle accept an 8% increase, provided it was single-term so that their members could expect the original wage increase of 11.4% at a later stage.
But Sars claims it’s unaffordable and that the best they can do is to place an 8% multi-term offer on the table.
And as reports reached FTW Online of a crippling ripple effect across the Revenue Service’s extensive digital platform, PSA labour relations officer Stefan Viljoen warned that Sars faced a “total shutdown” if staff did not return to work soon.
Musekwa insists though that an 8% short-term and 11.4% longer-term wage increase is beyond Sars’ financial means as it will “bankrupt the organisation”.
