BL Premium reports that in a move that could give the National Treasury more say on future pay agreements for public servants, the government will have to produce a certificate of compliance with the department’s regulations before entering into deals with unions.

This development was part of an agreement hammered out by the unions and the government at this week’s four-day public service co-ordinating bargaining council (PSCBC) summit on collective bargaining. The outcome from the summit follows the protracted legal battle between the government and public sector unions after the government pulled out of a three-year pay agreement it signed in 2018, citing lack of funds. In a ground-breaking Constitutional Court judgment in February, it was ruled the government did not have to implement the last leg of the three-year agreement as the unions were “unjustifiably enriched” from the “impugned collective agreement”. At the heart of the dispute was the government’s argument that the pay deal was unlawful as government negotiators had entered into the agreement with the unions without checking if the Treasury had enough in its purse to honour the agreement, as required by law. Speaking after the summit declaration was adopted on Thursday, public service & administration minister Ayanda Dlodlo spoke in favour of the certificate of compliance in future pay talks. “It does not put us in a corner. What it actually does is to ensure that all processes are legally and properly done,” she said.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

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