2018 Public Sector Wage Agreement Goes Through Necessary Approvals, Court Hears

JOHANNESBURG – Lawyers representing the public sector unions of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Wednesday argued that the 2018 wage deal received the necessary approvals before it was signed.

The state and the unions are fighting in the Labor Appeals Court over the government’s decision to unilaterally withdraw part of the deal, which resulted in public officials not receiving pay increases in April.

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In its opposition documents, the government said the agreement was invalid because it was not approved by the Cabinet, among other anomalies.

Making presentations for the Democratic Teachers Union of South Africa (Sadtu), the Civil Rights Union of Police and Prisons (Popcru) and the Democratic Nursing Organization of South Africa (Denosa), defender Ngwako Maenetje argued that it could not be allowed The government walked away from the agreement, as it did not act in time to realize that the collective bargaining agreement did not pass the law.

“Even if the court finds the agreement invalid, it has wide discretion given the context in which this agreement was concluded and the behavior of the cabinet and ministers that the correct way is not to allow the government to withdraw. And also, the importance of collective bargaining, ”Maenetje said.

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The government said it concluded the deal in 2018, fearing negative publicity and the possibility of labor unrest, among others.

But the unions argued that the employer’s challenge was to negotiate the saving of funds through various means to raise the money for the pay increases, and now that the government hadn’t done so, they wanted the workers to bear the brunt of the challenge.

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