Nehawu in parliament refutes calls to align salary increases to public sector

The National Education, Health and Allied Worker’s Union (Nehawu) in parliament has rejected calls by the National Treasury for the institution to align its salary increases for its staff component with that of the public sector.

Workers in parliament got a 6% salary increase for this year.

Last week, Treasury briefed parliament and alluded that staff wages should be in line with those of the public sector.

Nehawu Secretary General in parliament, Themba Gubula, says the decision by Treasury is ill-advised.

“Public servants have been getting increases above our own increases as parliament and workers in the public sector and this has never been an issue. Furthermore, our salary structure in parliament compared to that of public servant is different. The benefits are different. For example, we (pay) medical aid and housing allowances out of our own pockets. We also don’t get 13 check. We also don’t get performance bonuses. So, to compare the two is really ill-informed.”

On-going public sector wage talks set to dominate business news this week

Meanwhile, the on-going public sector wage negotiations and the performance of the local currency are expected to continue to dominate business news this week.

The rand touched a two-year high of R13.88 against the dollar last week supported by an increase in commodity prices. The new week could also see some direction following an impasse in the public sector wage talks.

Some unions have rejected the 1.5% wage offer by government, while others are still consulting with members over the increase.

Public-sector unions still mulling over government’s 1.5% wage increase offer: