Cosatu warns govt against cutting wage bill
The Congress of the South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says
the government needs to deal with corruption before it
moves to cut down the public sector wage bill.
The federation has reacted with anger to a proposal by the government, ahead of Finance Minster Tito Mboweni’s budget speech on Wednesday, to review the public service wage agreement for the year.
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Government says it cannot afford the last leg of the three-year agreement.
But Cosatu’s Sizwe Pamla says National Treasury should first deal with corruption and wasteful expenditure.
“The president presented a plan to reduce wasteful expenditure and corruption, working with the auditor-general. National Treasury should give us that plan because we lose a lot of money through wasteful expenditure and corruption.”
Pamla fears that the budget speech will be based on ideology and not facts.
“Anyone who comes with solutions without really giving evidence will be treated with suspicion, because they are not driven by facts but ideology. We are going for an ideological budget because we are likely to be given a budget that is focused on satisfying certain agencies.”.