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Sunday Independent reports that the SA Revenue Service (SARS) has abandoned its appeal of the North Gauteng High Court’s judgment ordering the taxman to honour the agreement it entered into with unions to increase employees’ salaries.
SARS signed a three-year wage deal in 2019 with the Public Servants Association (PSA) and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union. However, the agency refused to honour the 2021/22 leg of the agreement despite effecting the increases in 2019/20 and 2020/21. In April 2021 SARS employees had been due to receive salary increases of consumer price index (CPI) plus 2% when CPI was 4.4%. In July 2021, the PSA approached the High Court in a bid to have the increase declared binding on SARS. In November, Judge Elizabeth Kubushi ruled in the PSA’s favour and declared the implementation of the pay hikes valid and binding and ordered that the salary increases be implemented. SARS then launched an application for leave to appeal Judge Kubushi’s ruling, but on 14 December filed a notice of withdrawal of the application for leave to appeal. “The PSA has already agreed to start constructive engagements early in January 2024 to ensure that payment to members can be effected as quickly as possible,” the union indicated, adding that SARS “had made a sober decision when it withdrew its application for leave to appeal.”
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Loyiso Sidimba at Sunday Independent
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