Samwu hails 'historic' 6% wage agreement
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has signed a 6% wage agreement with the South African Local Government Association.
The five-year salary and wage collective agreement is valid between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2029.
The marathon wage negotiations began in July at the South African Local Government Bargaining Council.
The agreement covers over 300,000 municipal workers at the country's 257 municipalities and their entities.
For the 2024/25 financial year, the 6% increase includes a 4.5% increase, effective from 1 July 2024 and an additional 1.5% increase, payable by 1 March 2025.
In the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years, workers will receive a salary increase of CPI plus 0.75%.
For the 2027/28 and 2028/29 financial years, salary increases will be pegged at CPI plus 1.25%.
Conditions of service include a 4.5% increase in housing allowances and medical aid by the employer.
"Employees earning R22,000 per month or less who do not currently receive any form of housing allowance will benefit from a once-off payment of R2,000 in the first year of the agreement, acknowledging the urgent need for housing support among low-income workers," said Samwu in a statement on Friday
"Focus on housing access, the agreement recognises the critical need to improve access to housing for municipal workers.
"As such, an investigation will be conducted to explore ways in which housing conditions for the country’s municipal workers can be significantly improved. This investigation shall be concluded by March 2025," the union added.
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