We all have a stake — if not a say — in these wage talks

This week public service & administration minister Senzo Mchunu called on South Africans to suggest proposals to resolve the deadlock in wage negotiations between the government and public service unions. Amid fiscal pressures and a moribund economy, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, talks between the government and unions representing its employees have been particularly difficult. Even before the current round of talks, the parties were locked in a dispute over the government’s reluctance to honour the last leg of a three-year wage deal. That dispute, which has been to the Labour Appeal Court, is now headed for the Constitutional Court.

In the current round of talks, the government has stuck to its position of not awarding increases in 2021/2022, against the union demand for a raise equivalent to 7%.

In calling for public participation, Mchunu cited the dire state of our public coffers, as well as the need to reform the public sector. Given that the current talks are occurring within the formal collective bargaining processes, it is not clear how the involvement of non-parties would help matters. This is especially so if the call represents the sentiment of only one party to the talks.

That said, the negotiations, increasingly at risk of becoming intractable, should be of concern to all citizens.

The public sector provides a critical service to the majority of South Africans, in areas such as education, health care, social support and even personal security. Most cannot afford to opt out of it in favour of the generally more efficient private sector.

Also, the sector is central to the government’s ability to deliver on its stated aim, and constitutional obligation, to improve the lives of citizens.

Failure to find a solution to the wage dispute, thereby risking instability and chaos in the sector, should be avoided. We urge all parties to the dispute to redouble their efforts to find common ground. Also, a more nuanced conversation is required — one that addresses workers’ needs, but also the public service’s fitness for purpose, and the value for money derived by the public.