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BL Premium reports that as public-sector workers face a salary freeze over the next three years, the National Treasury has taken a hard line on future wage negotiations, saying it would ensure they were done in line with the country’s prevailing economic conditions.
It has also dug its heels in on reducing spending on the wage bill, staying on track with cuts announced in the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) in 2020 and effectively implying a wage freeze over the medium term. Proposed reductions to the wage bill amount to R303.4bn from 2020/2021 to 2023/2024, according to Wednesday’s Budget Review. This is slightly lower than the R310.5bn proposed in the medium-term budget. The proposed reductions now consist of the R160.2bn announced in the 2020 budget and an additional R144.2bn over the medium term. The wage bill will account for R1.97-trillion or 32% of consolidated government expenditure over the medium term. The state and public-sector unions are set to hold negotiations on the next wage agreement in the coming months. Unions have not yet tabled their demands, but will likely to ask for increases above the consumer price index (CPI). A public-sector wage strike is likely.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Claudi Mailovich at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
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