Parliament's striking National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) workers will have to wait until Friday for further news on their performance bonus dispute.

"Discussions are at a critical stage," said Sthembiso Tembe, chairperson of the Nehawu's Parliament branch.

He asked workers to go home and to return on Friday at 09:00 for another update.

The group of around 100 people sang and danced in the cold while President Jacob Zuma's last session of the year, his address to the the National Council of Provinces, went ahead unhindered and the National Assembly sat to finish the year's business.

The union and Parliament agreed that the bonus would be paid on the total annual package. Now they are deciding on which percentage to use to calculate the bonus.

The next step was to decide what percentages to use to calculate the bonuses according to performance ratings.

Earlier this week Nehawu strikers entered the National Assembly, causing the proceedings to be suspended. Speaker Baleka Mbete said at a press conference later that they had also thrown food on the floor of committee rooms.

Workers locked out

Workers were locked out of the precinct after that and picketed at a gate in Plein Street.

While they waited for news, they occasionally mock-charged the gate as part of a song while about 30 police officers huddled against the cold in a car park nearby.

Tembe said Nehawu's president, Mzwandile Makwayiba, had left the Congress of SA Trade Unions' special congress in Midrand, Gauteng, to strengthen Nehawu's position in the negotiations. So far it was looking good and he believed workers would be happy with the outcome, but would not discuss details in public yet.

The SA Communist Party's Western Cape secretary, Khaya Magaxa, arrived in a show of solidarity and told workers to keep up the struggle and to also resist the outsourcing of jobs at Parliament.

He also warned members to be careful of Parliament hiring workers wanting to further the agenda of political parties opposed to the African National Congress (ANC).

Magaxa is also the deputy chairperson of the ANC in the Western Cape.

News24.com