DESPITE the prevailing difficult fiscal position, the government believes the 3% salary increase offered to public servants is “generous”.
This is the view of the acting minister of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), Thulas Nxesi and finance minister, Enoch Godongwana.
This as a deadlock persists in wage negotiations with labour unions.
The ministers said the current round of negotiations commenced with the government.
Government, they said, is grappling with a “balancing act” between wage increases and additional headcounts, saying “there’s always competition” between the two.
“Higher than inflationary or unaffordable adjustments on the salaries of the current public servants would mean that there’ll be less money available to increase headcounts in critical frontline services.
“The State capacity in Education, Police and Health has not been increasing in line with the growing population over the years, while wages have increased by an average of 2% above CPI between 2008/09 and 2019/20.”
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