Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said the sector had lost 1 169 workers, while between the period of December 2020 and February, 159 educators had died.
But government insists it doesn t have the funds and the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation.
The PSA s Ruben Maleka said: It s not true that government employs more people than it should. As we speak right now, we ve got a challenge of say how are they going to distribute vaccines. We’ve got doctors that are unemployed. We’ve got health workers that are sitting at home simply because the fiscus has been eroded and nobody has taken responsibility. So we are saying that as the time goes on that monies that have been lost to corruption have been recovered one can have hope that one day we can stop this bleeding and fiscus can be in a good health way that can sustain this country.
Marelise van der Merwe Share
An increase in the wages of public servants – originally due to kick in on April 1, in terms of a wage agreement reached in 2018 – is still on ice after Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced an ambitious plan in his Budget address to save some R160 billion in the state s wage bill over three years.
One of the criticisms of South Africa s fiscal management by rating agencies has the inability of the state to rein in expenditure, with the growing public sector wage bill a key item highlighted. The state hired more than 190 000 employees between 2007 and 2012, which helped offset job losses after the last global recession. However, the main cause for concern is not necessarily the total number of public sector jobs, but rather that rate of salary increases in the public sector has consistently outpaced the private sector.
Trade unions representing public servants are planning to approach the Constitutional Court to up the ante in their fight with the government over inflation-beating salary increases.
Trade unions affiliated with Cosatu and the Federation of Unions of SA have decided to appeal against a Labour Appeal Court ruling that handed the government a huge victory in December 2020, paving the way for it to not pay salary increases to South Africa’s 1.2 million public servants.
Public Servants Association (PSA) general manager Reuben Maleka confirmed to
Business Maverick that trade unions are drafting court papers to petition the Constitutional Court. SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) general secretary Mugwena Maluleke, who speaks on behalf of Cosatu-affiliated unions, also confirmed the decision by unions to approach the country’s top court.