[ad_1]
By ANA Reporter 
2h ago
Johannesburg – The Public Officials Association (PSA) said it was disappointed that Finance Minister Tito Mboweni did not address the issue of eliminated salary increases for its members in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement.
Signs from Mboweni that there will be no raises for government workers for the next four years amounted to a declaration of war against the unions, the PSA said.
Introducing the budget in Parliament on Wednesday, Mboweni indicated that public officials would have to make the same salary-related sacrifices that their peers in the private sector were making in the wake of the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy.
“Our compatriots in the private sector have made sacrifices and even negotiated pay cuts to keep companies afloat. Over the past five years, compensation for public sector employees grew 7.2% a year on average, well above inflation. Over the next five years, it will have to grow much, much slower, ”Mboweni said.
Mboweni said the government and the leaders of the public services unions were meeting to discuss how best to adapt to the reality that “we must do more with less.”
The PSA has already filed a wage dispute in the Labor Court over the government’s decision announced in February’s main budget to reverse agreed wage increases in an attempt to reduce the wage bill by approximately R160 billion in the medium term.
On Thursday, the union was enraged by the fact that while Mboweni was adamant about not raising public sector wages, he had managed to juggle the budget and find R10.5 billion for a corporate bailout plan for the national airline. South African Airways.
“It is becoming increasingly apparent that there is an attack on collective bargaining in the public service and the laws and processes that govern this hard-won right for workers are being ignored,” he said.
The plight of its members was exacerbated by new pension fund sanctions that will be imposed on public officials who choose to leave government employment, the PSA said, adding: “Government employees, in effect , they will be hostages of slaves (labor) in deteriorating conditions. ”.
He said, contrary to Mboweni’s claim, that there was no ongoing compromise between the minister of administration and public service and the unions on the salaries of public servants.
“In these circumstances, the PSA can only regard the minister’s statements as a declaration of outright war against public service work,” he said.
African News Agency (ANA)
[ad_2]
