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The ANC says it is not afraid of a potential political fallout between it and its alliance partner, labour federation Cosatu, ahead of next year’s national elections as the government pushes ahead with plans to avoid unaffordable public-service wage bill settlements which have been flagged as a big risk to the fiscus.
Preliminary polls show that the ANC is set to see a decline in electoral support in the 2024 national and provincial elections. Disgruntled voters may look to alternative parties due to growing discontent as they have had to endure as many as 10 hours of power cuts daily in recent times as Eskom implements up to stage 6 load-shedding, as well as rampant unemployment and corruption.
Cosatu, which has 21 affiliated trade unions representing workers in various sectors including health, education and the police, has traditionally mobilised its more than 1.5-million members to vote for the ANC in successive elections since 1994. It has accused the government of conducting wage negotiations in bad faith by undermining collective bargaining and announcing that it has only allocated R45.6bn to provide for the carry-through costs for the 2022/2023 public-service wage increase.
This is as negotiations between unions and the government for the 2023/2024 financial year are ongoing. The Public Servants Association (PSA) has demanded an above-inflation wage increase of 12.5% for its more than 235,000 members, and Cosatu is calling for wage packages that will cushion public servants from rapid inflation.
“We do not think of our alliance as a hostage situation where demands are listed and a ransom must be paid,” deputy head of the ANC’s economic transformation committee (ETC) Zuko Godlimpi told Business Day. “When negotiations between government and labour are taking place, it is on the basis of workers pursuing their economic interests as they should. An amicable agreement between government and labour will be found,” Godlimpi said.
“Negotiations between government and labour are still carrying on. An agreement will be brokered on the basis of the evidence shared between the two negotiating parties at the bargaining table and the strength of argument by each side will determine outcomes.”
According to the Budget Review released by the National Treasury on Wednesday, compensation spending will increase from R690.4bn in 2022/2023 to R760.6bn in 2025/2026, growing at an average annual rate of 3.3%, mainly due to the carry-through costs of the public-service wage increase implemented in 2022/2023.
“The reality is that public servants are not respected by government … whether this will be a political cost, the ANC must calculate,” Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi said on Thursday.
“It is obvious that they are intent on balancing the books by pickpocketing nurses, teachers, and other hardworking public servants,” Cosatu said.
“We are not on strike,” PSA general secretary Reuben Maleka told Business Day.
He said the PSA was happy that the finance minister had refrained from allocating a percentage to the wage budget.
“That allows us to freely have negotiations not limited by the pronouncement of a percentage” in the budget speech.
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