State IT Agency Proposes R26m ‘Sweetener’ to End Employee Strike

The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) is actively seeking to bring a week-long employee strike to an end by offering a R26 million 'sweetener'. This substantial pool is set to be shared among the agency's generous employee force of over 3,100 employees.

In an attempt to further sweeten the deal, SITA has committed to a 5% salary increase for participating employees, a substantial jump up from the initially proposed 4.5%. In addition to this, the agency has promised its employees that this increase will be swiftly processed, intending to be paid by Wednesday, October 25, backdated to April of the same year.

An agreeable resolution between the agency and the Public Servants Association (PSA), which represents 80% of the total SITA workforce, has been sought through the creation of a draft agreement. Subsequently, 3,103 employees are expected to receive a once-off ex-gratia payment of R8,326.45 next month, albeit minus statutory deductions.

However, the draft agreement does hinge on the PSA agreeing not to participate in further industrial action during wage negotiations for the 2023/24 financial year. No assurances have been conveyed by the PSA as yet, but this major step towards resolution indicates a tangible effort by the SITA management to pacify the current industrial environment.

In response to the proposed agreement, the PSA general manager has stated that the union is advocating for leave without pay to be waived by SITA.

SITA management intends to seek a mandate from the agency’s board to facilitate the significant ex-gratia payments and to exempt employees who participated in the strike from the principle of “no work, no pay”.

The PSA has referred to the current offer as a “last-ditch effort to prevent any further industrial action”. They emphasize that acceptance of the offer will only occur once the majority of their members have provided a mandate.

Meanwhile, to manage the impact of the industrial action on service delivery to the government, SITA has activated contingency plans, including reconstituting structures responsible for operational oversight and business continuity.