Mboweni seeks fruitful talks with unions

FINANCE Minister Tito Mboweni has called for constructive discussions with the unions on the proposal to freeze salaries for public servants in the next few years.

Mboweni’s decision has drawn fury from the unions, which rejected it.

The minister told the joint committees on finance in Parliament yesterday that Minister of Public Service and Administration Senzo Mchunu would lead the discussions with the unions.

However, he warned that any decision between the two parties should not breach the fiscal framework.

He said they need to approach the matter with the unions strategically and he hoped that it would be resolved.

“Most of our public servants are hard-working people and they too don’t want to burden the country, but that they must not carry the sacrifices alone. All of us must come into the picture, private enterprise, public representations, the executive, both national, provincial and local …” said Mboweni.

He said that the country should try to avoid a possibly damaging public servants’ strike.

However, whatever was done or discussed must not break the fiscal framework.

In his proposal for the salary freeze Mboweni is eyeing R300 billion over the next four years.

He said there needed to be serious discussions between labour and the government on the matter.

“Therefore, there are important strategic conversations that are taking place between the Department of Public Service and Administration and the trade union movement in the public sector and Minister Mchunu is leading that process,” said Mboweni.

He also told the joint committees that if the government did not stabilise debt it would be difficult to fix the economy.

Mboweni said the economy was already in a crisis with the public purse deteriorating and the government needed more to run its programmes.

But if there was nothing left in the fiscus it would spell disaster for the country.

The debt was fast approaching 95% of gross domestic product and if it breached the 100% mark of GDP it would signal serious trouble.