The government finds itself in an uncomfortable position as it seeks to drive economic recovery post the Covid-19 pandemic and deal with demands for wage increases by public sector workers.
This precarious situation is worsened by the fact that government does not have money to fund wage increases with borrowing at an all-time high and that already the public sector wage bill is considered to account for a third of its spending.
Notwithstanding this, the Public Servants Association (PSA) which represents over 200,000 government employees has started balloting its members for a possible strike after deadlocked negotiations over salary increases. The PSA has rejected government's 2% cost-of-living adjustment offer and the R1,000 after-tax cash gratuity.
The deadlock came as other unions returned to wage talks in the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council with labour demanding between a 4% and 10% increase. If the government holds firm on its position that it cannot increase its offer from a baseline of 2% to 3%, this could mean that there might be a first full blown public sector strike since 2010.
There is no disputing the fact that workers' salaries across the board have not kept up with basic needs price increases making the cost of living unbearable. Many workers are facing difficult choices to make at home in these circumstances. It is in this regard, that the unions, therefore, can't be faulted for trying to get a good deal for their members to ease the burden.
But this is not just about the wages of the public servants as it goes to the heart of the country's economic well-being including unemployment, rising debt ratio and stagnant growth. It has been argued that reining in rising public sector wages will help as part of measures to reduce the country's debt and attract investment into the ailing economy. The bad state of the economy can only mean that the government will soon run out of options when it comes to wage increases as these will worsen the country's financial problems.
The outcome of the balloting of PSA members and the result of the negotiations with other public sector unions is therefore crucial in indicating what direction we will be headed. Our call to those sitting at the negotiating table is for cool heads to put the country first and not their interests.
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