Bid to avert new S Africa strikes

Huge marches were held in all of South Africa's major cities

Unions and government officials are meeting in South Africa in an attempt to thrash out a pay deal to avert a new wave of strikes next week.

This follows what was billed as the biggest strike in South Africa's history, when hundreds of thousands of public workers stayed away on Thursday.

Most of the country's schools were closed but officials said "essential services" were not affected.

The dispute could upset the alliance between unions and the ANC government.

Eight public sector unions, including those representing teachers, nurses, police officers and prison wardens, have rejected a 6% pay offer, demanding a 7% rise.

Minister booed

"The... public service unions have agreed that they need to intensify this programme of action and... extend the stay-away to next Monday and Tuesday if the government does not heed their call for an improved offer within 48 hours," Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) told Reuters news agency.

Unions fall out with the ANC

On Thursday, Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi was booed and insulted when she addressed thousands of strikers in the capital, Pretoria.

"You go tell Fraser-Moleketi that she can take her 6% and give it to her dogs," a labour relations officer told the AFP news agency.

"We think public servants have sent out a very clear message to the government that they are extremely unhappy. The strike was a huge success," said Public Servants Association General Manager Anton Louwrens.

Tens of thousands of workers, wearing bright red and yellow T-shirts and caps marched in South Africa's main cities.

"If you get paid peanuts, you get monkeys," read some of the union placards in Pretoria.

Workers blew whistles and sang old liberation songs, before their demands were handed in to the finance ministry.

Embittered

As the workers were marching, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told parliament that the government was keen to come to an agreement.

"But... we can't push up the cost of everything. The only thing that we can do when we run out of money is either borrow more and that will impose a tax on future generations, or we can tax more now," he said.

Unions say they are being ignored by the government

The BBC's Richard Hamilton in Pretoria says that teachers are the most embittered group as they have not had a pay review since 1996.

South Africa has about 1.1 million public servants, of which 990,000 are union members, and there are fears the strike could cost as much as $30m (£16.8m).

Unions leaders said that 800,000 workers stayed away from work, which Professor Duncan Innes of the University of Witwatersrand says would make it the biggest strike in South Africa's history.

The government has offered a 6% increase for 2004, plus a 1% performance-related pay rise. Workers would get a pay rise in line with inflation for 2005 and 2006.

Unions have refused this latest deal, wanting a 7% rise this year and the right to negotiate above-inflation rises for the following two years.