Salga slated as municipal wage talks hot up

IN THE LATEST salvo, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has slammed the South African Local Government Association (Salga) for an alleged false public statement about the union’s stance in the ongoing wage deliberations.

Salga had said that the employer body and organised labour were in agreement that the economic downturn had hampered the ability of municipalities to generate revenue.

“Parties (at the negotiating table) have affirmed their commitment to work towards a common ground which will result in an agreement being reached. This augurs well for the prospects of peace and stability in the sector and in ensuring the continuation of service delivery without interruptions,” Salga said at the conclusion of the second round of the talks.

In reaction, the union hit out yesterday and said the association was creating a deceitful impression that the parties would reach an amicable deal soon.

“Samwu scolds Salga following a statement they released wherein they seek to create an impression that parties in the bargaining council are warming up to each other and that an agreement will be reached soon,” deputy secretary-general Dumisani Magagula said.

The employer body further created the impression that as a result of municipal revenue collection declining, labour was intent on compromising the interests of workers, he added.

“Samwu has always maintained that workers cannot be blamed for fraud, corruption, maladministration and inefficiencies in municipalities, which included under and non-collection of revenue,” said Magagula.

In a clear indication that a showdown is looming, Magagula called on workers to “prepare to defend gains that have been made in the past years (in terms of improving salary scales and working conditions)”.

Described by South Africa’s largest municipal union as “a spit in the face of workers” who had been pushed against the wall by the Covid-19 pandemic, Salga proposed an acrossthe-board R233 increase and that all other demands relating to medical aid, standby allowance, cellphone allowance and housing allowance be frozen for the coming three years.

On the other hand, Samwu is demanding a single-year agreement, a R4 000 salary increase for all workers, a R15 000 sectoral minimum wage, a R3 500 housing allowance for all, an 80% employer medical aid contribution and 20% employee input, a 25% employer support towards pension, six months’ fully paid maternity leave and one-month fully paid paternity leave.

Magagula said the demands that have been put forward by trade unions will only cost the employer R9 billion more annually.

“These demands are affordable. Compared to other spheres of government, the wage bill in all of the country’s 257 municipalities is R29 billion per annum, which is the smallest of all wage bills in all of the three government spheres,” he said.

According to the National Treasury, the public sector wage bill stood at around R635bn in the financial year 2020-2021.

Key to the elements of Salga’s proposal, the employer body said, was an across-the-board salary increase of 2.8% for year 1 (2021-2022 financial year), which it said was 1.5% below the projected consumer price index, and a total freeze of increases on all benefits linked to salary increases.

“Considering that the local government sector has been one of the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, these negotiations represent a critical point in efforts to save municipalities from complete financial collapse,” Salga said in a statement.

“Some municipalities are already unable to afford the current wage costs and would indeed have to apply no more than a 0% increase in the 2021/22 Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework. As of 31 December 2020, 160 municipalities experienced a form of financial distress resulting in a serious material breach of financial commitments. Of these, 111 were experiencing severe financial distress resulting in persistent material breach of financial commitments.”

The Independent Municipal Allied Trade Union said it would comment once the bargaining council process was finalised, with the union’s Sipho Shinga adding it did not believe the current offer was cut in stone.

The next round of negotiations is set for early next month.