No salary increase for civil servants
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday January 31, 2022 06:00
A savingram written on behalf of the Director of Public Service Management (DPSM) seen by Mmegi yesterday indicates that government is in no position to open negotiations for a wage increase for the 2022-2023 financial year due to the tight budget situation.
“We hope you are aware of the country’s current economic situation. This includes facts like successive budget deficits since 2019/20 to date, the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” reads the savingram addressed to the six public service trade unions and signed by acting DPSM director, Samuel Rathedi.
Rathedi requested the unions to “defer negotiations for salary increment and other conditions of service pending improvement of our economic situation”.
“However, we are available to meet with you on any other issue that you are desirous to discuss,” the savingram further reads.
Civil servants received increments ranging from six to 10 percent in the 2019 – 2020 as well as 2020 – 2021 financial years. The increments, together with the impact of COVID-19, have been blamed for widening the budget deficits, which in turn forced a range of tax and levy increases in April 2021 on the part of government.
The higher taxes and increases in other administered prices such as electricity, Botswana Housing Corporation rentals and fuel pump prices have caused inflation to trend at nine-year levels since June last year.
Unions, meanwhile, have reacted angrily to government’s position on salary increment for the 2022 – 2023 financial year.
BOFEPUSU president, Johannes Tshukudu said government’s approach was tantamount to undermining the law and the union. “There is a procedure that needs to be followed,” he said.
“Our government is really undermining trade unions and we don’t understand why the employer arrived at this conclusion without consulting us. “One cannot make an announcement without following the procedure and expect us to take the issue seriously. This is a joke. There are laws and guidelines that need to be followed for one to arrive at that decision which needs both parties to agree on. If they don’t want to follow proper procedure then we will meet in courts,” said Tshukudu
BOFEPUSU president claimed that the reason why the government is not interested in resurrecting the Bargaining Council is because of “issues such as these” where the employer does not want to do the right thing in terms of workers’ welfare.
He said the employer has to demonstrate the expenditure and revenue to show that indeed there is no money available. Research also needs to be done into the economy’s performance. “One does not just make announcements because one can do that. “Even previous judgements are clear on what should be done.
“We are not saying that government has money but what I am questioning is the procedure and transparency. “President Mokgweetsi Masisi has promised people that he will be consulting people therefore he must do so,” Tshukudu said.
Inflation, or the rate of the increase in the prices of goods and services, reached 8.7 percent in December after peaking at 8.9 percent in July last year. The high inflation means the salaries civil servants and other workers in the economy are earning, purchasing less than they previously could.
Concerns have meanwhile been raised that the government’s refusal to negotiate an increase for civil servants could spell disaster for the private sector, where employers frequently take their cue from the public service. Most workers in the private sector have gone without annual wage adjustments for years, most particularly since COVID-19 hit the economy in 2020.