Ferial Haffajee
THERE is good news on the cards for teachers, nurses and police officers in this year’s wage negotiations – they’re likely to get better increases than other public sector employees.
And the government has proposed a wage freeze for all public servants from chief director level upwards – these categories comprise 0,2% of the public service.
The largest union in the sector, the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), has said an even greater number of public servants should not get increases. It proposed in this week’s wage round that everybody from director level upwards not take increases this year.
Government this week offered an increase averaging about 9,5%, but it works out higher for “service-providers” in the civil service. In effect the raise for police officers, teachers and the like works out at about 11% – an inflation-busting increase. The state has offered 20% more for the three lowest grades in the police service.
Major trade unions gave talks in the civil service a thumbs-up. “There’s a decided change in the way government presented things. There’s more openness and there’s a sense that government’s really taking charge,” said Nehawu president Vusi Nhlapo.
Nehawu wants a minimum wage of R2 100, while government is offering a minimum of R1 900 a month. The Public Servants Association’s (PSA) representative Caspar van Rensburg said the union “was not miles apart” from government, though it objected to the wage freeze.
But negotiations could come unstuck on the extra amount the government has set aside for increases in savings it made from slimming down the civil service. Government says there is R323-million available in addition to the R6,5-billion budgeted for increases. The PSA says much more should have been saved.