COSATU statement on the recommendation of a 3% salary increase for Political Office Bearers
31 March 2022
The Congress of South African Trade Unions has noted with disappointment the recommendations submitted by the Independent Commission on the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers that all Political Office Bearers should get a 3% salary increase. This is a tone deaf and embarrassing recommendation that should be rejected by President Cyril Ramaphosa and South Africans in general.
The World Bank recently released a report that shows that South Africa is the most unequal country in the world, and Statistics South Africa has released its own report that shows that real unemployment in the country is close to 50%. The South African working class is facing mounting social challenges and it’s about time that political leaders show some solidarity with the suffering masses.
Load shedding, the rising cost of living, corruption and a stagnant economy have all happened under the watch and leadership of all political office bearers. They do not deserve the packages they currently earn let alone an increase in their salaries.
The South African judges at all levels and all the way to the Constitutional Court have rejected the case of public service workers who wanted government to pay them the money that was due to them from the third leg of a three-year agreement Resolution 1 of 2018. It is obvious now that the judges wanted this money for themselves when they supported the government’s prejudicial decision to renege on implementing that agreement. The government and the judiciary are engaged in a cynical alliance that is about maintaining the status quo and crushing the poor.