How every day on strike left civil servants permanently worse-off

We're too rich, let's strike! (AFP)

The government originally offered 6% triggering the (now) one-month strike.

Consider this: for every day on strike, workers will have to work another 40 just to recover the money they lost. The 20 working days lost equates to three and a half years before they recover their one month of lost pay. Each day of the strike also meant that government hadn't paid workers and so was able to offer an equivalent increase without actually effecting their budgeted allowance.

So how much should workers have held out for to - at the very least - break even and leave themselves equal to the money they lost (but without an inflation-level increase)?

That would be 9.09%

Government employs a third of all workers in South Africa. This has a big impact when all negotiate together. The problem for workers is that, by striking and through the increase they have received, they have now affected inflation levels. This has risen to 6.5% and may rise further, necessitating interest rate hikes. Most will have borrowed money to replace their lost wages. These are now subject to interest rate hikes.

Workers are never likely to recover their losses since they are more than likely to be on strike again in two years and suffer further pay losses.

Union bosses know this. All of this is clearly calculated in advance. COSATU is more interested in dabbling in the political intrigue of the ANC succession debate than in representing the real needs of their workers. And they're awful negotiators.

A 6% increase one month ago is far better than 7.5% after no pay for one month.

These, gentle-people, is why economists should be listened to. Otherwise you celebrate when you should be mourning.