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The union federation today presented a presentation on the medium-term budget policy statement presented last week.
CAPE TOWN – The South African Congress of Trade Unions (Cosatu) has accused the government of focusing too much on cutting spending at a time of economic crisis, when it should underpin the economic recovery plan’s goals of saving jobs and businesses and spurring growth . .
Cosatu told Parliament’s finance committees on Wednesday that he agreed that mounting government debt needed to be controlled, but rejected the decision to impose a pay freeze on civil servants.
The union federation presented on Wednesday a presentation on the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) presented last week.
The MTBPS relies on reducing the public sector wage bill, but Cosatu sees this as an attempt to force them to pay the bill for poor management of the state by politicians.
Cosatu’s parliamentary coordinator, Matthew Parks, said: “What the government is proposing is basically an obsession to cut spending – an austerity budget in fact – we also see the need to deal with the debt problem, but we it worries that it has the (cost) of the need to stimulate the economy, save jobs and save companies ”.
Cosatu said workers would not take the government seriously until it cut packages paid to political leaders and senior executives by 30% and began to tackle the corruption pandemic.
Parks said Cosatu has made a number of proposals to the government in Nedlac on how to deal with corruption, including a review of the procurement system.
“But the fundamental area of disagreement that our colleagues in government did not want to agree with was prohibiting politicians, their spouses and children from doing business with the state and, for us, we have to deal with that issue.
“We cannot have ministers, MEC, councilors, leaders of political parties and their families, doing business with the state, but we all talk about lip service corruption.”
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