Apex Council chair Cecilia Alexander in a letter to the National Joint Negotiating Council said that they are ready to hear what the government has to offer.
The Apex Council is set to meet with the government today in a follow-up meeting to the indaba held on Monday. The government is expected to reveal the full details of the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) offer it is ready to offer civil servants.
Speaking ahead of the much-awaited meeting with government officials today, Alexander had this to say:
We will attend the meeting to understand their (government) offer. This is where a decision will be made.
The best thing they can do is to give us salaries in US$, as salary increases in bond notes will spike a wave of price increases and this will bring us back to square one and the issue becomes a vicious circle. What we are proposing is that they should simply convert our salaries to US dollars.
Last year, we had a series of meetings and there was no solution and this time, we are in a worse situation. Today’s meeting will determine whether we are going to work or not. This will not affect our 14-day ultimatum. Right now, (government is) sending education inspectors around schools to check on teachers as if things are normal.