South Africa's civil servants remain in internal talks about whether to accept a renewed government wage offer that would end 15 days of all-out strike.

Early indications are that one teachers's union and another representing nurses have rejected the offer of a 7-per-cent wage hike, in favour of holding out for 8.6 per cent.

Chairman of the Independent Labour Caucus Chris Klopper says it's very unlikely there will be an announcement on Wednesday.

Public service minister Richard Baloyi has delayed his briefing until Thursday in light of the unions' decision.

The government has to cut corners to find the extra one billion dollars on its 23-billion-dollar wage bill, Baloyi says.

The National Union of Mineworkers - the country's largest - and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) have suspended their one-day strike in solidarity with the public servants.

But they reserved their right to resume industrial action if the government's offer is rejected.

Some 70,000 motor industry workers began their own wage strike on Wednesday, closing the Volkswagen production line and threatening to close forecourts selling fuel to motorists.

Meanwhile schools remain closed and hospitals continue to struggle on skeleton staffs.