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BL Premium reports that in its latest offer to unions in wage talks, the government has offered public servants the standard 1.5% “pay progression” increase, which is automatically due to all public servants, as well as a cash gratuity of nearly R1,000.
However, it has refused to budge on the bigger question of a cost-of-living wage increase, which it still says is frozen at zero. The 1.5% pay progression increase is part of the conditions of service of public servants who are rewarded with a pay rise for every year of service. Employees who will not receive a pensionable salary increase during 2021 will have their salaries adjusted by at least 1.5%. The details are contained in a presentation the employer made to unions during a facilitation meeting in the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) on Sunday. The presentation also proposed a monthly non-pensionable cash gratuity of R978 to be paid to all employees, however, it is unclear how it will be funded. There was some confusion among unions after Sunday’s talks over whether the 1.5% increase constituted a cost-of-living increase or not. Reuben Maleka of the Public Servants Association (PSA) remarked: “From clarity obtained it appears that the 1.5% that is being offered is already in place in the form of a pay progression that employees qualify [for] because of satisfactory performance. In essence, employees are only offered a non-pensionable gratuity (type of allowance) of R978 before tax.” The unions are demanding a wage increase of the consumer price index (CPI) plus 4% across the board for 2021/2022.
Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page