WAGE INCREASES WILL COME AT A COST TO SERVICE DELIVERY

THE Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in the past has managed to a large degree, with little help from the government, to have almost a 75% settlement rate on all labour disputes.

This means that both government and the private sector have benefited from labour peace because of successful mediations.

Our dysfunctional Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi, who always waits until a strike or a dispute, has been wholly destructive before he turns to the CCMA for help.

Over the past 15 years, I have been urging the Labour Ministry to be active in dispute avoidance.

The CCMA is alerted by the disputing parties when there is a deadlock in negotiations.

The CCMA, in turn, could alert the Labour Ministry which could then activate a positive response by invoking powers granted in the Labour Relations Act to avoid the dispute. The government has all the powers, it just a needs the will to be proactive.

Numerous other interventions could be used by the Labour Ministry to make the business environment more productive and labour-friendly.

A column of this nature does not allow me to outline all the interventions that could be undertaken at little cost. I have, however, been active in outlining these interventions almost weekly, addressing the Labour Ministry at the labour portfolio committee in Parliament.

The wage demands from the public service and state-owned enterprises have been trying for both the government and public.

These demands have been completely out of kilter with what is affordable. Government has done its homework and could only afford 3%. Because of the destructive nature of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA strike, the government was forced to pay 6.5%, whichv is completely unaffordable.

Now the government has agreed to pay a 7.5% increase to the public servants, even though it is completely unaffordable. The government has no choice but to take money from service delivery. This means that service delivery is going to get far worse.

The ANC government has had to do this because of their alliance with Cosatu, which can spell the death knell for our economy.