Cosatu says NO to proposed salary increase for elected officials

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has expressed its disagreement to a government-issued report recommending a 3% wage increase for elected officials.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, Members of Parliament (MPs), ministers, and other officials could get salary rises in the coming financial year, according to the report from the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers.

Bheki Ntshalintshali, Cosatu’s general secretary, believes that public personnel deserve a raise.

“They don’t appear to be paying attention to what’s going on around them.” The economy is awful, finances are mismanaged, and individuals who are supposed to be lusting after the funds aren’t doing their duties, for the most part.”

“The public servants, the low-wage workers, are the ones who deserve a raise.” They agreed to a three-year wage freeze, but now the Commission says those employees deserve a raise,” Ntshalintshali continues.

Below is the full interview with Bheki Ntshalintshali:

Government wins wage bill battle

In February, public sector unions were unsuccessful in their attempt to compel the government to honor a three-year salary agreement reached in 2018.

Because of decreasing tax revenue, the government has reneged on some provisions of its collective pay agreement.

The compensation hike would have added R38 billion to the already high wage bill in the public sector.

The Constitutional Court denied the public sector union’s request to appeal a Labour Appeal Court decision from 2020.

The Labour Appeal Court dismissed the unions’ request to implement clause 3.3 of the collective agreement in that decision.

The pay increases in the public sector for the 2020/21 fiscal year were set under this clause.

The video below is reporting on the court ruling over public wage bill: