Concern over public sector wage negotiations

The weak economy, political instability and high cost of living are some of the factors that are expected to make 2017’s public sector negotiations the ‘most difficult’ to date, reports Business Day. Trade unions are gearing up for an uphill battle but have vowed they would not succumb to pressure to accept inflation-based wage offers from the government, despite the weak state of the economy. Curbing the government’s wage bill is one of the proposals that make up Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s recently launched action plan to lift growth. The report says wage talks are expected to get under way at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council in September ahead of the expiration of the current agreement in March 2018. Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini is quoted in the report as saying that the federation was against the Treasury’s plan, saying workers would not be sacrificial lambs and be expected to demand anything below a living wage. Meanwhile, the Public Servants Association, which represents 230 000 public sector employees, said it was also ready to defend the right of workers to demand a double-digit increase.