Durban - The office tasked with recommending the annual pay increases for government employees has recommended that President Jacob Zuma and his cabinet not be granted a rise.
In fact, no public servant earning more than R1 million a year should receive a salary hike at all.
This week, the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers signed its annual recommendations on salaries for 2013/14. The commission looks at pay for the politicians on the government payroll, not the public servants.
The seven-person commission is chaired by Judge Willie Seriti who, as a judge, would be included in those whom he recommended should not get an increase.
The recommendations tabled by the commission are:
* Those earning more than R1m a year should not get a pay increase next year.
* Those earning R800 000 to R1m should get an increase of 4 percent.
* Those earning R500 000 to R800 000 should get a 5 percent increase.
* Those earning less than R500 000 should get 7 percent more.
Those in the R1m-plus range who will have to make do with what they have include the president, deputy president, ministers, deputy ministers, the leader of the opposition, premiers, MECs, mayors, all judges, chief magistrates and regional court presidents.
Those who may get a 4 percent increase include MPs and National Council of Provinces permanent delegates, MPLs, deputy mayors, regional and chief magistrates, and kings. Those who may get a 7 percent increase include municipal councillors.
The effective date for salary adjustments is April 1 this year, and for those in local government July 1, which aligns with the relevant financial years. This means that if Zuma and Parliament approve the increases they will be backdated.
The recommendations are submitted to the president and Parliament. Parliament approves the recommendations on the president, judges and magistrates, the minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs does so for the local government section, and the president approves the rest.
The Mercury