South African public sector workers strike

They're also looking for improvements As many as 1.3 million people were expected to walk off their trt jobs. Between 10,000 and 100,000 workers also demonstrated Tuesday across five provinces.The workers want wage hikes of up to 8.6 percent, about double the rate of inflation, according to the Congress of South African Trade Unions.

They're also looking for improvements to their housing allowance, currently about $70 a person.

The government has offered a an overall 9 percent pay hike in negotiations with the labor group, according to Dumisani Nkwamba, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Service and Administration. Public sector wages make up a third of government spending.