South African public servants, which encompass a large variety of job positions – from nurses to engineers – are currently in a negotiation deadlock with the government over their salary increases for 2018\/19 and beyond.<\/p>\n
Unions representing civil servants put forward their wage demands in October 2017, but a number of political events – including the ANC elective conference, the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as president and the subsequent cabinet reshuffle – have thrown the negotiations into disarray.<\/p>\n
Salary increases for public workers were supposed to increase from 1 April 2018, in line with the start of the new financial year.<\/p>\n
However, the urgent mandate from the new government – to cut down on government spending and specifically to clamp down on the ballooning government wage bill – has forced the department of public service and administration to go tough on negotiations with the unions.<\/p>\n
South Africa’s government wage bill is currently the biggest item in the budget, accounting for over a third of the total.<\/p>\n
According to the unions representing the public servants – the Public Service Association (PSA) and the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) – the deadlock with government has now reached the point that workers are planning to go on a national strike.<\/p>\n
In a statement published on Monday (7 May), the PSA said that it has given the government until the 14th of May to meet its demands.<\/p>\n
“Should an agreement not be reached by the said date, the PSA will request a certificate of non-resolution and members will be balloted for strike action,” it said.<\/p>\n
Demand and offer<\/strong><\/p>\n The unions are demanding a CPI-based increase of CPI+3%<\/strong> for the lowest-paid workers and CPI+2%<\/strong> for the mid-level earners. They are also seeking an annual review, rather than a three-year commitment. On this front, the government is willing to go with a two-year agreement.<\/p>\n According to the PSA, government’s latest offer<\/a><\/strong> is:<\/p>\n For next year and beyond, however, the offer from government is much lower:<\/p>\n At current rates, government’s offer for 2018\/2019 meets the demand. CPI is around 4%, and the demand from unions would be between 6% and 7%, in-line with the offer. The wage negotiations on other demands (housing and leave issues) are still under consideration.<\/p>\n How it will impact salaries<\/strong><\/p>\n BusinessTech looked at how some state jobs will be impacted by the increases for this year, using an average estimated increase of 6.5%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Based on the 2017\/18 salaries offered (from the previous, finalised salary scales), we’re able to estimate how much public servants will get paid if their demands are met. The salaries below are the bottom to top ranges, based on full-time employment. Figures have been rounded.<\/p>\n\n
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