Siyabonga Mkhwanazi
OPPOSITION parties in Parliament yesterday called for a speedy resolution to the public sector wage talks but acting Minister of Public Service and Administration Nathi Mthethwa remained mum on public sector wage increases.
Opposition parties said they hoped the settlement would be reached tomorrow following consultations by public sector unions, after the government increased its offer to 7 percent.
The increase from 5.8 percent to 7 percent was believed to be the carrot that the unions were looking for.
In his budget vote yesterday, Mthethwa came under attack from the opposition over corruption in the public service and a bloated public service with a ballooning wage bill of R430 billion.
It was DA MP Joe McGluwa who launched the attack on Mthethwa accusing him of running an inefficient public service that was not delivering.
In his defence, ANC MP Sizani Dlamini-Dubazane said the minister was having everything in place and had tightened his grip on the public service to curb fraud and corruption.
Mthethwa, who was appointed acting minister in March following the death of Collins Chabane, said they were professionalising the public service through the National School of Government.
“Honourable McGluwa, you have made a valid point that there will be no economy that will pay itself if it borrows,” said Mthethwa, adding that the economy needed to grow.
This was in reference to McGluwa’s comment that the economy can no longer sustain the huge wage bill.
“Due to the fact that our economy has failed to create jobs outside the public sector, government has had to borrow substantially to pay public sector employees,” said McGluwa.
He said the wage bill must be cut by 4.3 percent to keep it at a sustainable level.
ACDP MP Steve Swart called for a speedy resolution to the public sector wage talks and hoped that the unions would accept the improved offer.
He said pushing the offer beyond the inflation rate would negatively affect the fiscus.
Swart said Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene had warned in his Budget speech that there was limited fiscal space to accommodate more increases.
MPs said they believed the two parties, at the negotiation table, would avert the strike by the 1.3 million public servants.
They warned that the strike would be too costly for the country.