By Stella Mapenzauswa
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African council workers entered a second day of strikes for higher pay on Tuesday in the latest stand-off between President Jacob Zuma and labour unions who helped bring him to power.
Tens of thousands of council workers stopped work on Monday over their demands for a 15 percent wage hike. South Africa is suffering its first recession since 1992 which unions say has hit hardest the country's poor.
The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) and Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (IMATU), representing some 150,000 council workers, have rejected an initial offer of an 11.5 percent wage increase.
SAMWU general secretary Mthandeki Nhlapo said the union was considering an improved offer and would decide on Wednesday whether to call off the strike.
"Tomorrow we are convening our special national executive committee to .... decide on the way forward. In the meantime, aluta continua (the struggle continues)." Annual inflation is running at 8 percent.
The strike by public transport workers, refuse collectors and licensing officers follows days of violent protests by residents of impoverished townships who have complained about lack of healthcare, water and electricity.
Striking workers marched through the streets of Johannesburg's city centre on Monday, overturning garbage bins, chanting revolutionary songs and vowing not to return to work until their demands were met.
Protest marches have also taken place in other cities and police fired rubber bullets on Monday to disperse union members.
INCREASE PRESSURE
Workers in the chemical sector have also been on strike for higher pay and unions in the gold and coal sectors will announce later on Tuesday whether they will accept an improved wage offer.
The labour unrest could increase pressure on Zuma to meet unions' demands for more social spending although the economic downturn will make it harder for Zuma to deliver on promises to improve the lives of the poor made before an April election.
SAMWU said this week 70 percent of council workers earn less than the 5,000 rand (390 pounds) monthly minimum wage the union is demanding.
In a statement issued late on Monday, the local government running Johannesburg, the country's biggest city, said rubbish collection, bus services and water supplies had been disrupted.
A man who identified himself as Gabriel told radio station Talk Radio 702 how he had been unable to bury his two-month-old daughter because the cemetery was closed by the industrial action.
Analysts say prolonged action could weigh on financial markets. "Such an event would cause investors to become more aware of political risk," said Alvise Marino, emerging market analyst at IDEAglobal.
(Editing by Marius Bosch and Robert Woodward)
