Icasa strike action stretches into third day

Johannesburg - Workers of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) continued their picketing action on Wednesday.

The strike entered its third day Wednesday as workers demanded salary increases and bonus pay back-dated to 2014.

These issues stem from 2014 when the Communications Workers Union (CWU) was part of negotiations regarding restructuring at Icasa.

But workers felt that they weren’t consulted properly about changes at the regulator and they then ditched the CWU, said the organiser of the strike Suzan Mashinini

Subsequently, disgruntled workers hired a legal representative and they obtained permission from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to go on strike, Mashinini told Fin24 earlier this week.

“The strike is still happening today,” Icasa spokesperson Paseka Maleka briefly told Fin24 by phone on Wednesday morning.

Mashinini told Fin24 late on Tuesday that the strike would continue despite her claims that discussions had taken place between a group of workers, management and Icasa counsellors.

The discussions resulted in an agreement that a task force would study workers’ complaints, said Mashinini.

But Mashinini said discussions of the task force fell through on Wednesday morning as management allegedly said that they don’t have the mandate to carry out the task force.

“They (management) are not serious about the workers,” Mashinini told Fin24 on Wednesday.

“The strike is still on...we aren’t budging” she added.

Fin24 asked Icasa to confirm whether a meeting about a task forced occurred on Tuesday but the regulator neither confirmed nor denied the said gathering.

“Icasa is open to communication with staff representatives to ensure that all matters are resolved on an expedited basis,” Paseka Maleka, spokesperson for Icasa, told Fin24.

Mashinini has further accused Icasa of launching disciplinary action against some workers heading up the strike, including herself.

“Icasa issued a notice to staff last week acknowledging that every employee has a right to strike,” said Maleka.

“However, it should be noted that Icasa has a duty to service its licensees and clients, as well as to protect the rights of those employees who have decided not to participate in the strike,” added Maleka.

Icasa also maintained that prior to implementing its policies in 2014, it “consulted with the representatives of employees in the form of the Communication Workers Union”.