Nearly 1 mln S.Africa public workers set to strike

By Jon Herskovitz

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - As many as 900,000 South African public sector workers are likely to strike in a week to push for higher wages, a group of unions said on Wednesday.

"Every government department will be affected," said Fikile Majola, head of the NEHAWU public sector union, reading a statement on behalf of a coalition of eight organisations.

The majority of the unions said they would only serve formal notice of their plan to strike on Wednesday, giving the government seven days to improve its offer.

"We are not going to announce a date now until the end of the seven-day notice period," Majola said.

State workers including nurses, teachers, police, customs officials and immigration officers rejected a 6.5 percent government wage offer last week, demanding an 8.6 percent increase and a 1,000 rand monthly housing allowance.

A walkout could hamper trade and tourism in Africa's largest economy. Still, analysts expect a deal as unions have tended to trim their demands and government to buckle in wage negotiations with organised labour, a long-time ally of the ruling African National Congress.

One of the affiliated unions said it had already applied for strike permission and expected about 90,000 of its workers, who include clerks in the customs, immigration and deeds offices, to walk off the job on Thursday.

"We have the same dispute. We are happy that all the unions are heading toward the same action," said Public Servants Association spokesman Manie De Clercq.