COSATU supports the public service worker’s struggle for decent wages and reasonable standard of living
13 March 2023
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is disappointed that the facilitation process seeking an amicable solution to the ongoing public service wage dispute has not yielded positive results. This is a missed opportunity by the government to find an amicable solution and avert a full-blown indefinite strike that will be devastating for the economy and public services.
We support all our members who are participating in the strike to defend collective bargaining and push back against the current offensive directed at public service employees.
The current economic trends have unleashed very harsh conditions for the working class, on top of the already severe triple-crises of unemployment, poverty, and inequality.
Public Service employees are being unfairly singled out and targeted with budget cuts even though the wage bill is, in fact, stable and in line with international norms at 35% of the consolidated budget since 2008. What has changed are the billions that have been lost to corruption, state capture, a mismanaged state economy, load-shedding, cable theft crippling our railway, collapsing basic services, and a stagnant economy. The government is wasting more than R30 billion, annually on consultants, who are unhelpful but deny workers an inflation-related salary adjustment.