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BL Premium reports that a senior government official has signalled that public-sector union wage demands could still be open for discussion, despite the Treasury indicating that the state could not afford salary increases.
Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) Deputy Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga said in parliament on Thursday that the government would approach wage negotiations with public sector unions with “an open mind”. Chikunga commented: “We are open to proposals because the demands of the unions are out there; however, at the moment there is no decision to either increase or not to increase salaries. The negotiations are just starting ... If you want to suggest anything to the government as an employer you can give that to us. For now we cannot say there will be an increase or no increase, because then that will nullify the importance of the negotiations. We will go to the negotiations with an open mind.” Finance Minister Tito Mboweni emphasised in his budget speech in February the need to contain compensation costs to support fiscal consolidation. But a few days after the budget, public sector unions asked for an across-the-board increase equivalent to the consumer price index (CPI) plus 4%. The Treasury is predicting that CPI will average 3.9% in 2021. Chikunga said negotiations with unions would commence on 29 March at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council. He declined to comment on the details of the unions’ demands.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bekezela Phakathi at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
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