Samwu defends salary increase against DA's claims in Tshwane

The South African Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) has hit back at the DA for claiming that the SA Local Government Bargaining Council's ruling on Monday for awarding municipal workers a 3.5% backdated salary increase for the 2021 financial year is "legally flawed and financially ruinous". 

The development follows a May 9 Labour Court ruling that sent the matter back to the bargaining council for a new hearing after the city had initially sought exemption from a 3.5% wage increase for the 2021/22 period.

The court also ruled that the city is exempt from implementing a 5.4% wage increase for the 2023/24 financial year, citing financial constraints. 

Both Samwu and Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) have since approached the Labour Appeal Court, seeking permission to appeal the ruling on the 5.4% wage increase.

DA chief whip in Tshwane Jacqui Uys reacted to the latest bargaining council ruling by urging the city to take the decision on judicial review at the Labour Court. 

She warned that failing to do so could undermine the city's financial recovery efforts.

She noted that the ruling acknowledged the significant financial impact of the 3.5% backdated pay increase, describing it as "very huge". As a result, the city has been given six months to implement the award.

Uys said: "But the reasons provided for the award lack the most elementary assessment of whether the city is actually able to afford a R1.4 billion expenditure in the next six months. In fact, the entire decision seems to have been taken without regard to the city's current financial position." 

Samwu national general-secretary Dumisane Magagula condemned Uys’s statement, saying it attacks the integrity of the bargaining council ruling and attempts to intimidate the city into defying the law. 

"The DA’s statement, which falsely labels this binding award as ‘flawed and ruinous’,  is a declaration of open war against the working class and a direct, contemptuous assault on the collective bargaining institutions of our democracy," he said.

Samwu accused the DA of having a maliciously anti-worker and anti-Black agenda, given their stance on the issue.

"The DA’s continued opposition is a clear, cold-hearted expression of a party dedicated to obstructing the legitimate financial advancement of the working majority in the municipality," the union said.

Samwu further criticised the DA for selectively quoting the bargaining council award, accusing it of dishonesty and deliberate deception.

"While the commissioner did concede the amount is ‘very huge’, this observation was precisely the reason a six-month implementation period was granted, a period for the city to manage the logistics of payment, not a finding that the city is bankrupt," Magagula said.

He argued that the DA's call for the city to take the binding decision on judicial review is not only fiscally irresponsible, but also an attempt to undermine justice and prolong a costly legal battle that has already wasted millions of public funds.

The union condemned the DA's hypocrisy, noting that they remained silent when the city recently approved a 5% salary increase for councillors.

Municipal spokesperson Selby Bokaba said City Manager Johann Mettler and the executive "will consider all aspects of the implications of the award, and thereafter communicate their decision".

He explained that the matter before the bargaining council concerned unpaid salary and wage increases for the 2021/22 financial year, which the city said it could not afford.

Lynette Burns-Coetzee, Imatu's regional manager, hailed the ruling as a victory for union members, who have been denied two separate increases for the past four years.

"As the cost of living has significantly risen during the past five years, our members were not only financially cash-strapped, but mentally, emotionally, and physically burnt out due to this unnecessary hardship they had to endure," she said.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za