The public sector strike which kicked off this week has been driven by a breakdown in negotiations — and relations — between the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) and the ANC over the 2022 wage increase.
However, the breakdown in relations between one of the largest affiliates of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and ANC ministers, including labour minister Thulas Nxesi, a former unionist himself, is not limited to the wage dispute.
Nehawu’s voice has been among the loudest of the Cosatu affiliates challenging the need for the continuation of their alliance with the governing party over its failure to act in their interests, a stance which will be hardened by the government’s intransigence over meeting their demand for a 10% wage increase.
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