Public sector unions representing teachers, nurses, police and prison officials have tabled a list of joint demands for wage increases at a rate more than double that of inflation.
This underscores the tough negotiations ahead and has the potential to pit more than 1.3-million public servants against the government of national unity (GNU), the largest employer.
The primary demands tabled on Tuesday at the public service co-ordinating bargaining council (PSCBC), a platform for the employer and employees to negotiate and agree on wage deals and other conditions of employment, include a one-year 12% wage increase across the board.
Consumer inflation eased to 4.6% in July, the lowest rate since July 2021, from June’s 5.1% due to softer price rises in food and transport owing largely to lower fuel prices.
The unions’ other demands include a R2,500 housing allowance increment across the board, that the danger allowance be increased from R597 to R1,000, a performance bonus, bursary schemes for dependents of government employees and permanent employment for education/teacher assistants, community health workers and reservists.
PSCBC spokesperson Oomang Parag did not immediately respond to questions .
Department of public service and administration spokesperson Moses Mushi said the employer would not negotiate through the media.
The wage negotiations for the 2025/26 financial year come after public servants received a wage increase of 4.7% on April 1, in line with a wage deal signed by the employer and four unions at the PSCBC in Pretoria in March 2023. Employees set to benefit do not include senior management.
The two-year pay deal translated into public servants getting a wage increase of 7.5% during 2023/24.
The two-year wage agreement was signed by the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union, Public Servants’ Association), National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA and the Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of SA.
Compensation spending is expected to surge to R760bn in 2025/2026, growing at an average yearly rate of 3.3%, according to Treasury
At the time it was said the 7.5% wage offer was set to increase the R690bn compensation spending by the state to more than R741bn, raising concerns about government’s fiscal consolidation efforts as National Treasury had pencilled in an average annual growth rate of 1.6% in government employee salaries for 2023/2024.
Compensation spending is expected to surge to R760bn in 2025/2026, growing at an average yearly rate of 3.3%, according to Treasury.
Mike Shingange, president of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), Cosatu’s largest trade union, which did not sign the two-year wage deal at the PSCBC in 2023, told Business Day in April: “The 2025/26 wage negotiations won’t be easy because workers want to claw back losses suffered over the past five years, since the reneging on the last leg of the wage deal signed in 2018.”
Relations between government and unions soured after the state reneged on implementing the last leg of a three-year wage deal signed in 2018, citing a lack of funds.
Nehawu boycotted the 2023/24 wage negotiations due to the wage impasse of 2022/23, which resulted in the employer unilaterally implementing a 3% increase in October 2022.
In his budget speech in February, finance minister Enoch Godongwana said R251bn would be used to fund salaries of public servants and government was exploring other measures, which would be tabled for discussion in the PSCBC “as part of a broader discussion on containing wage bill growth”.
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