Trade unions representing public servants have tabled their wage demands for 2021, asking for an inflation-busting increase when the government wants to forge ahead with a three-year wage freeze.
Several days after Finance Minister Tito Mboweni reiterated a wage freeze for SA’s 1.2 million public servants in the Budget Review to cut government spending and bring ballooning state debt under control, trade unions have asked for an increase of consumer price inflation plus 4% in 2021.
The National Treasury and Reserve Bank expect consumer price inflation in 2021 to average 3.9% and 4% respectively, meaning that trade unions want public servants such as teachers, nurses, doctors and police officers to be awarded an increase of more than 7%.