COSATU calls on President Cyril Ramaphosa to reject the outlandish and absurd recommendation by the “Independent” Commission for Remuneration of Public Office Bearers for political office bearers to get a four percent salary increase

20 November 2018

The Congress of South African Trade Unions has noted with deep alarm that Ramaphosa the “Independent” Commission for Remuneration of Public Office Bearers has recommended to Ramaphosa that all politicians and public office bearers receive a four percent (4%) salary hike.

This is happening at a time when millions of South Africans are struggling with the cost of living, thousands are losing their jobs everyday and the economy is on its knees.  The last report from Statistic South Africa on poverty trends confirmed that the socioeconomic status of the majority in South Africa is deteriorating, whilst few people are getting richer due to economic policies that favour the rich.

When applying the food poverty line which is the rand value below which individuals are unable to buy food for adequate health amounting to R441 per person per month, there are about 14 million people that are extremely food poor and unable to obtain enough food to provide them with sufficient diet for healthy development.  When applying the upper bound poverty line of R992 per person per month 55.5% of the population or 30.4 million South Africans were living in poverty in 2015.

We have 17 million people that are depended on social grants and for those who are working 50% do not earn above R4000 per month and spend more than 25% of their salaries on transport. Of the 25 million people with bank credit cards, 10 million are unable to repay these loans on time and some default on their debts. 

It is totally inconceivable therefore for any properly adjusted people to believe that with all of these problems facing this country, political office bearers deserve a four percent salary increase.

COSATU is calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to not only ignore this ridiculous recommendation but to throw it into the nearest dustbin, where it belongs.   

The reality is that our governments is less and less able to meet its obligations through taxation ,it is clueless about how to reduce its obligations after resorting to dangerous levels of inflationary borrowing over the past decade.

Political office bearers across the board do not deserve any salary increase. They have brought us nothing but mass immigration, uncontrollable crime and substandard education. The health system is collapsing, the judicial system is bogged down in a mess and there are no fresh ideas from the political establishment about how to fix the country and its economy.

Most political office bearers are immensely incompetent and inexperienced and they make a mess of everything. The mess we are in has been caused by these political office bearers. They are the same people who have been frenzied in their animosity against the workers, who are being blamed for all the ills of this country.

SABC, Eskom and other SOE’s are threatening to retrench workers and the idea of an increase for political office bearers, who are the architects of this economic mess we are in, is preposterous.

COSATU also calls on the president to dismantle the so called “Independent” Commission that is populated by judges. These judges are tasked with a responsibility of determining their own salary adjustments and that is the just ridiculous. We are also calling on all political parties that purport to represent the poor to come out and reject this recommendation by the commission.   

Issued by Sizwe Pamla, COSATU National Spokesperson, 20 November 2018