Trade union National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU), one of the country’s largest public sector unions, says the current wage agreements are sacrosanct and not open for review.
NEHAWU’s comments come after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), in which he said government was engaging unions on measures to contain the public sector wage bill.
The wage bill is a key concern for ratings agencies as it accounts for around a third of consolidated government expenditure. Meanwhile, ratings agency Fitch reacted to the SONA by saying Ramaphosa offered only partial detail on key policy areas like the electricity sector.
Fitch then underscored a weak outlook for the country’s credit worthiness.
