/ 20 December 2024

Mzamo Buthelezi

Members Of The National Executive Swearing In Ceremony In South Africa
Public Service and Administration Minister Mzamo Buthelezi. (Photo by Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

SCORE: C


Public Service and Administration Minister Mzamo Buthelezi has, so far, managed to avoid a deadlock with unions for the 2025-26 and beyond wage negotiations. In October, the government and unions agreed to continue the wage negotiations for the country’s roughly 1.3 million civil servants after Mzamo’s department tabled a 4.7% increase for the 2025-26 financial year, within inflation-linked adjustments for the subsequent reporting periods. That bursary funds for public servants’ beneficiaries form part of the negotiations speaks volumes about the new minister, who began his tenure in July following the May general elections, stating in his budget vote that the wellbeing of his employees will form part of his tenure. But we cannot get carried away with Buthelezi’s zeal because unions and the government have continuously had fractious relations at negotiations time. Let us hope that the cordial bargaining can continue.