Johannesburg - Employees at the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) have scored a 4.2% salary increase despite the government freezing public servants' wages for the next three financial years.
The FSCA initially offered its staff 5.5% salary increase after the Public Servants Association (PSA) demanded a 15% across-the-board wage hike before the Covid-19-enforced national lockdown in March.
The union revised its demand taking into account the economic conditions created by the deadly coronavirus.
However, the FSCA later also revised its offer to 0% and subsequently upped it to 2%.
"The PSA, however, informed the employer of its intention to withdraw from the negotiations. After many deliberations, the employer offered a final salary adjustment of 4.2%, which is keeping in line with inflation for the 2021 financial year," the union said in an update to its members.
It balloted its members at the FSCA and the majority agreed to the salary adjustment of 4.2%.
The PSA, which is the only recognised union at the FSCA, and the authority signed an agreement last Wednesday, and the new wage deal will be in force from next month until the end of 2021.
At the start of the negotiations earlier this year, when the PSA tabled its demands, the union wanted a 15% salary increase, which later revised to 12%, a R1 500 monthly housing allowance, 50% subsidy for medical aid, fixing of salary disparities and a clear policy on performance management.
In its response, the FSCA offered a 4.5% salary increase, which would be equivalent to the consumer price index, but was mum on the housing subsidy.
The FSCA also expressed its willingness to conduct a feasibility study on the affordability of medical-aid subsidy and determine if there are unfair salary disparities and rectify these by the end of April this year.
It also expressed its willingness to develop a clear policy regulating performance and payment of possible bonuses.
The victory by workers at the FSCA comes as unions representing the country's 1.3 million government employees are heading to the Labour Appeal Court to challenge the state's refusal to implement the last leg of the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council's 2018 resolution to increase salaries by between 4.4% and 5.4% in April this year.
The matter will be heard on Wednesday.
Political Bureau