South African public sector workers voiced optimism about reaching a pay deal with the government after it improved the offer to 5% from 4.7%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn terms of the negotiations, we believe we will be able to close it in the next week,\u201d said Frikkie de Bruin, general secretary of the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unions representing nearly 1.3 million workers, including teachers, nurses and police, are seeking a 6% wage increase for the 2025-26 financial year, down from 12% when talks began in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To control its finances, the government wants to link public sector pay increases to the consumer price index for the two years after 2025-26, which was a sticking point, De Bruin said in a telephone call on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a general perception that CPI is only covering your expenses; it\u2019s not uplifting you out of poverty, and that might probably be a little bit of an area that could be a challenge,\u201d said De Bruin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The revised offer is significantly higher than South Africa\u2019s inflation rate, which moderated to 2.9% in November and is above the central bank\u2019s 4.5% target for anchoring price expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re making steady progress. If the increases are decent enough, we will definitely consider that,\u201d said Claude Naicker, spokesman for the Public Servants Association of South Africa, which represents more than 245,000 workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMembers are indicating that if we get close to 5.5%, or we do get 5.5%, they\u2019re more likely to settle at this stage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finalizing a deal will come ahead of the national budget on 19 February, where Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will want to show the government is keeping a lid on public spending to put a brake on South Africa\u2019s mounting debts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wage talks are expected to resume on 17 January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n