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Unions tell Mboweni to cut costs at level of high-earning top

Details

mboweniThe Citizen reports that labour federation Cosatu and its public service union affiliates are up in arms over Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s plan to cut the public service wage bill by R27 billion over the next three years.  

They called on the government to instead reduce the number of ministers, deputy ministers and government departments.  Cosatu also accused Mboweni of negotiating with workers in parliament instead of tabling his proposals in the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council.  Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said:  “No unilateralism will be entertained by the workers, and this will receive an obligatory pushback.  Cancelling public servants’ performance bonuses without consulting them will only serve to demotivate these workers.  This will weaken an already fragile public service and we are likely to see more skilled people abandoning it.  The government is not assisting anyone by negotiating in parliament instead of using the appropriate platforms.  If it wants stable labour relations then it must engage workers about their conditions.”  In his budget speech on Wednesday, the minister said the first step was to allow older public servants, who want to go, to retire early.  This would save an estimated R4.8 billion in 2019-10, R7.5 billion in 2020-21 and R8 billion in 2021-22.  Speaking on behalf of Cosatu public service unions, Mugwena Maluleke, Sadtu general secretary, said”  “The high wage bill is not a problem caused by workers, but by the high number of ministers and deputy ministers and the upper echelon of bureaucrats who earn very high salaries.”

  • Read the original of Eric Naki’s report on the above in full at The Citizen
  • Read too, Mboweni puts old civil servants in firing line, at SowetanLive


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