Fin24 reports that MPs were told on Friday that National Treasury saw no risk in a wage freeze resulting in the loss of skilled workers in the public sector. 

Acting head of the budget office, Edgar Sishi, was reacting to concerns raised in public submissions on the 2020 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) about a possible exodus of public sector workers if government committed to no increases in wages.  In February, Treasury announced plans to reduce the wage bill by about R160 billion in three years, as part of a five-year fiscal consolidation plan to stabilise debt.  Government reduced compensation of employees this year by R36.5 billion – mainly through not honouring the final year of the 2018 wage agreement.  Sishi explained that a person earning a medium income in the public service, or a starting salary, would probably earn less if they moved to the private sector.  "The economic incentive to leave is not there," he said.  Sishi noted that private sector workers had been taking substantial cuts.  But, Matthew Parks of labour federation Cosatu pointed out that higher public sector wages were attributed to skilled workers like doctors, nurses and teachers and it was important to "compare apples with apples".  He also claimed that Treasury did not see that nurses, doctors and teachers would leave as a result of wage freezes.  "That is not true. Check any Sunday newspaper, you will see adverts of Canada, New Zealand, Saudi [Arabia], Dubai, poaching doctors, nurses and teachers.  There is a constant flood of them leaving," Parks argued.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lameez Omarjee at Fin24

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page