Tonga's public servants refused to accept "No" for an answer from Cabinet today July 22, and will continue their strike action into next week.

After being informed by the Acting Prime Minister Hon. Cecil Cocker that Privy Council had not accepted their request for reconsideration of the huge disparities in this year...’s salary increase, the leaders of the Public Servants Association were adamant that they would not budge from their position in seeking greater pay increases, and continue the strike.

Over 1,000 civil servants joined the first day of the strike in Tongatapu today, and while most government departments remained open, many were only partially operational with an estimated 50% of staff returning to work.

The strikers gathered peacefully at Pangai Si...’i next to the Treasury at 8:30 a.m. There, they were told by the PSA...’s interim committee that Hon. Cecil Cocker would meet with the committee to discuss the issue before he went into Friday's Privy Council Meeting. The crowd waited calmly beginning with a prayer then later singing hymns and songs as the Privy Council meeting convened at 10 a.m.

Mele ...‘Amanaki, Vice Secretary of the PSA Interim Committee, said that after the Privy Council meeting they were summoned by the Acting Prime Minister at 1:30 pm and were informed that their request had not been accepted, but there was a chance for further negotiation when the Minister of Finance returned next week.

Mele said the committee rejected it and told the Acting Prime Minister that their position would not differ from what they had proposed in regards to the new salary structure and subsequent salary adjustments.

Hon. Cecil Cocker then told the committee to further discuss the issue when the Minister of Finance, Hon. Siosiua ...‘Utoikamanu, returned from an overseas trip on Saturday because he was the one who knew how much money Government had, and would decide if an increase was appropriate.

In the meantime the PSA declared that the national strike would continue into next week until Government accepted their recommendations.

They want a new salary structure based on job description evaluation to be reconsidered, and that it should be based on the old salary scale and be revised as follows:

Old levels.....Percentage Increase

Level 2-5..............60%

Level 6-10...........70%

Level 11-14..........80%

"We want nothing less then what we have requested and until they accept our recommendations the national strike will continue," Mele said.