South African Govt Workers Embark On Strike Over Pay

Thousands of public workers in South Africa downed tools in a nationwide strike over wages after talks with the government hit a deadlock threatening to affect essential services. <br />The wage stalemate between the government and its employees escalated after Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi last week declared he would unilaterally implement a three per cent increase across the board. <br />Unions want a 6.5 percent hike. <br />Union members including nurses, immigration workers, and some police officers picketed outside the Treasury office in Pretoria waving black placards reading public servants are bleeding. <br />The PSA had warned that the strike would have a serious impact on the home affairs, transport, and border control departments.