Unions representing teachers, soldiers, police and nurses have rejected government’s 3% wage offer electing to stick to their demand for an above-inflation wage increase of 12%.
Parties met at the public service co-ordinating bargaining council (PSCBC) on Tuesday to try and find middle ground.
Frikkie de Bruin, general secretary of the PSCBC, the platform for the employer and labour to agree on wages and conditions of employment, said parties were still “positional and neither of them at this stage is willing to give way on their positions”.
“I must state upfront that it’s very early in the negotiation process as to make any assumptions as to where and which direction the negotiations will go,” De Bruin said on Wednesday.
“Parties met on October 1 at the PSCBC offices till late evening discussing the position of both parties on the demands tabled by labour,” De Bruin said.
“Labour has, in this meeting, rejected, as was expected, the 3% salary increment offered by the employer as a counter to the 12% demand of labour tabled and, rejected by the employer earlier.”
He said parties also explored detail in the other demands tabled by labour ensuring that demands “are understood before venturing into finding solutions”.
Other demands by the country’s teachers, nurses and police officers for 2025/26 include a R2,500 housing allowance increment across the board, a nearly two-fold rise in the danger allowance to R1,000, a performance bonus, bursary schemes for dependants of employees, and permanent employment for education/teacher assistants, community health workers and reservists.
Consumer inflation eased for a third consecutive month, to 4.4% in August from 4.6% in July due to a lower fuel price, among other factors.
De Bruin said parties resolved on Tuesday night that “considering the urgency of finalising this round of negotiations, to revert to a facilitated process under the auspices of the council to attempt to bring parties closer. It is envisaged that the facilitation process will start on October 8”.
“We also want to compliment parties for the professional way they have been engaging in this process up to now. Furthermore, we recognise public servants for their patience in allowing their trade unions to engage government in seeking an amicable solution,” he said.
“We understand this is an emotional time, as increments relates directly to addressing the livelihood of individuals and families. We hope to bring this matter to closure as soon as possible.”
The unions, representing SA’s 1.3-million government workers, have said they were preparing for a long negotiation process as the government of national unity, grappling with a R700bn-plus public sector wage bill, seeks to curb government spending.
The wage demands have been described as the toughest test yet for the new minister of public service and administration, Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi.
The wage negotiations for the 2025/26 financial year come after the country’s public servants received a wage increase of 4.7% on April 1, in line with a wage deal signed by the employer and four unions at the PSCBC in Pretoria in March 2023. Employees set to benefit do not include senior management.
The two-year pay deal translated into public servants getting a wage increase of 7.5% during 2023/24 and projected consumer price inflation for 2024/25.
In the 2024 Budget Review, the government pencilled in a total wage bill of just more than R750bn for the 2025/26 fiscal year, or about 4.5% higher than the previous year.
In his budget speech in February, Godongwana said the government was exploring other measures, which would be tabled for discussion in the public service bargaining council “as part of a broader discussion on containing wage bill growth”.
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