The South African government, led by Minister of Public Service and Administration Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, is set to carry on negotiations with public-sector unions on Tuesday evening, following a failure to reach agreement over Thursday’s threatened public-sector strike.
At a media briefing at Tuynhuys, the minister said the government is doing everything in its power to avert a strike, but she acknowledged unions have the right to strike.
She noted that any extra spending more than the R28-billion package will require either extra taxes or borrowing by the government, and this has not been considered.
Fraser-Moleketi said the offer on the table for a 6% increase and a further 1% — which is a performance-related payment — amounts to more than CPIX projections. It is also higher than the inflation-targeting range of the government.
She said her ministry has convened an urgent meeting on Monday in Isando of the presidents and secretaries general of all the trade unions that participate in the public service bargaining chamber where she believes “a fair and just offer” was made to the unions.
A clause in a draft consensus allows any party — notably a union — to open negotiations to negotiate a percentage above CPIX in salary negotiations next year and the following year.
The government as employer has also proposed the delegation of a clause allowing for the reduction of the adjustment in a succeeding year in the event of the projected CPIX being higher than the actual CPIX over the current financial year.
Linked to this clause, the government has retained a provision where, in the event the actual CPIX is higher than the projected CPIX, the difference is added to the adjustment in salaries in the following year.
This offer — which also includes tweaks to the housing component — was apparently not accepted by the unions involved.
But Director General of Public Service and Administration Richard Levine said any higher payment for public servants — which he also pointed out is already above CPIX — will affect the overall package offered. This includes R3,9-billion to be spent on housing benefits and R2,8-billion more to be spent on extending medical-aid benefits over the medium term.
He noted that there are 720Â 000 public servants who do not have a housing allowance at present and 320Â 000 receive no medical assistance.
Levine also noted that the extra percentage for pay progression is being offered to those public servants who “do their jobs”. Last year, this had been paid to 85% of employees. Levine noted that in the private sector those who do not perform “lose their jobs”. — I-Net Bridge