Cape Town - City of Cape Town councillors and staff will not receive any salary increases for this financial year.
The announcement was made by Mayor Dan Plato at a virtual council meeting, on Wednesday, tabling the budget for the 2021/21 financial year.
Plato said emphasis was placed on ensuring that the budget would not further cause economic hardship amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, and that through extensive expenditure cuts, rates and tariff increases were kept to a minimum.
“Among these cuts is a commitment that there will be 0% cost of living increase in the salaries and wages provision in the 2021/22 financial year.
“To achieve this, the City has petitioned the Local Government Bargaining Council to not award any salary increases for staff and councillors,” said Plato.
“We understand that this has been a hard year for staff and councillors, who have admirably continued to deliver services and support communities under trying circumstances, but we all need to make sacrifices in order to achieve longer term sustainability.”
“It is simply not acceptable that those in the public sector, by virtue of being subject to collective agreements, should impose further strain on the residents we serve, however, should the bargaining council bind us to making such increases, the City’s staff numbers will have to be decreased to achieve this commitment.”
Meanwhile, the SA Local Government Association (Salga) said municipal wage and salary negotiations are still under way with the SA Local Government Bargaining Council, with the next round of discussions to be held on June 3 and 4.
“Parties are still trying to find each other and we are committed to reaching a wage agreement that will be achievable,” said Salga spokesperson Sivuyile Mbambato.