BL Premium reports that Department of Public Service & Administration (DPSA) Minister Senzo Mchunu has rejected suggestions that he committed “fiscal treason” by proposing a R27bn wage settlement to public sector trade unions.
The minister was speaking in parliament on Friday. Leon Schreiber of the Democratic Alliance (DA) noted that Finance Minister Tito Mboweni had for more than a year promised that the state would not increase wages and had in fact imposed a wage freeze for the next three years. Yet Mchunu, Schreiber said, had last week offered the public sector workers a R27bn wage increase. He asked Mchunu why he was committing this “fiscal treason” against the country. In an earlier statement, Schreiber said the government’s bid to settle with the trade unions “signals the beginning of the end of the government’s halfhearted effort to reduce the out-of-control wage bill. Mchunu said he did not know anything about the offer that was mentioned. “What I know is that we had discussions with the unions based on four fixed principles — the first one was that whatever was agreed outside court had to be in line with the principle of not affecting in any way the budget baseline which is in line with the current fiscal framework. Second, any agreement could not expand in any way government’s borrowing margin; third, it must maintain stability; and, fourth, it should enable government to sit down with labour to discuss the new dispensation in the public service.” Mchunu insisted this was what was discussed with labour.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
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