S Africa public servants set to strike on June 1

JOHANNESBURG, May 30 (Reuters) South Africa's powerful COSATU labour federation threatened today to stage a massive public servants strike if last-ditch pay negotiations failed.

The government announced it had made a ''major breakthrough'' with a new wage offer but union leaders stuck to their demands and expressed serious doubts that a compromise could be reached.

COSATU, which represents about 60 per cent of the nation's nearly one million public servants, said it was mobilising about 700,000 workers for a strike on June 1.

Unions are demanding a 12 per cent wage hike, while the government has countered with a 6 per cent increase.

''We call on the government to revise its offer drastically so that it reflects its commitment to quality service delivery, failure to do this will result in a total shutdown of public service,'' the union group said in a statement.

''Unions have vowed to withdraw their labour until these demands are met.'' Public Services and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi told parliament today both sides had agreed on a working document that would serve as the basis for a final deal.

''This is a major breakthrough. ... Labour has agreed to consider this in its entirety while negotiating issues within the proposal,'' she said.

The minister did not disclose details of the government's new offer, but she did say that public servants would see ''significant increases''.

''I trust that with the working document on the table we may not see the need for any industrial action come June 1.'' LAST DITCH TALKS Unions said last-ditch negotiations were under way but there were no signs of a breakthrough by early today afternoon. ''There will be a storm if today's talks fail. This is the last effort to reach an agreement, said Oupa Lebepe, deputy chairman of the National Allied Teachers Union in Gauteng province.

A prolonged public service strike could cripple the delivery of basic services and trim economic growth in Africa's economic powerhouse.

Officials with COSATU and its eight affiliated public service unions have warned they were marshalling their membership for national marches on Friday to mark the start of the industrial action.

The same unions put on a show of force on May 25, sending tens of thousands of members marching through the capital Pretoria and other major cities as a warning of what a strike could do to the country.

The wage demands and threats of a massive strike are a worry to South Africa's economic planners, who Tuesday saw inflation surge through the central bank's 3 per cent to 6 per cent target band for the first time in almost four years.

Union leaders have pressed their demands, accusing President Thabo Mbeki and other senior government officials of ignoring the plight of workers and the poor while catering to the interests of foreign investors and the business community.

Labour anger was stoked recently by an official body's recommendation that Mbeki receive a 57 per cent pay rise.

''The employers have not moved an inch. The onus is with the government. At this point it looks like we are going there to strike,'' said Pinky Mncube, the COSATU treasurer in Gauteng province.

REUTERS RS KN2048