Uniform pay for public service workers

Lindiwe Sisulu (Image: GCIS)

The sometimes exorbitant salaries earned by municipal managers and other key municipal staff has caused a public outcry over the years and the new measures address this issue. It is also aimed at ensuring an institutional alignment throughout all spheres of government to create a uniform framework of remuneration and conditions of service.

Sisulu said during a media briefing ahead of her budget vote speech in an extended committee of the National Assembly on Wednesday (22 May) that the bill (which replaces the former Single Public Service Bill) - had been adopted by a cabinet committee this week and would be submitted to cabinet next week for approval.

She said that while the bill allowed for employers and trade unions at local government level to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment in their bargaining council‚ their power to do so would be constrained by a provision which would allow the minister, over time, "to address unjustifiable disparities within the public administration‚ including unjustifiable disparities between local government and other spheres of government.

"The rationale is that the bill is intended to enable and facilitate the harmonisation of the systems‚ practices and conditions of service within public administration," she said.

Power of local government protected

Sisulu insisted that the bill would not infringe on the constitutionally-enshrined powers of local government and said it had been approved by the state law advisors.

The proposed law would also establish a regulatory framework to align the remuneration and conditions of service of senior managers in national‚ provincial and local government. This would create a single corps of senior managers within government whose appointment would be to the public service rather than to a post.

It would facilitate the mobility of staff between the spheres of government on condition that provinces and municipalities agree to the transfers or secondments.

Government employees who succeeded in being elected to political office will automatically have their employment contract terminated.

The bill envisages an expanded role for the Public Service Commission which will also have oversight over local government in addition to national and provincial governments as is currently the case. The bill will also include an anti-corruption strategy.

Sisulu said amendments to the Public Service Act - also approved by the cabinet committee - would be introduced to prohibit public servants from doing business with government.

Another key strategy in the years ahead would be to trim the public service, which the minister conceded was "bloated". Sisulu said she wanted to clean up the system by eliminating inefficiencies. Departmental officials had estimated that about R8bn could be saved annually by reducing the number of funded vacant posts.

Unfunded posts would also be removed. An analysis by the department found that in five departments in Limpopo - health‚ public works‚ roads and transport‚ treasury and education - had a total of over 47‚000 unfunded vacant posts which should not be there and which distorted statistics on the level of vacancies in the public service.