AfricaNews Monitoring Team Credit: BBC
The South African government has increased its wage offer of 7.5% to more than a million striking public sector workers. President Jacob Zuma had called for fresh attempts at reconciliation as the two-week long strike has seen many schools and hospitals grind to a halt.
The unions have been demanding 8.6% and are expected to vote on Tuesday night on whether to accept the new offer.
The secretary general of the main trade union federation, Cosatu, Zwelenzima Vavi told the BBC his team had fought "very hard" to push the government offer up to 8%.
He said it would be up to the unions' members to decide whether it was acceptable and whether in his words this represented a "victory".
Before this latest round of negotiations Cosatu had threatened a one-day general strike on Thursday, if the wage demand of 8.6% was not met.
About a million civil servants are already on strike but Cosatu's total affiliated membership is double that.
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