The budget’s public service job cuts anger unions
Nehawu is worried about service delivery, and Cosatu says there are many other ways to reduce government spending
Trade unions have lashed out at the threat to public sector employment contained in the 2017-18 budget. Treasury has indicated the compensation budgets of national and provincial departments will be reduced by R10bn in 2017-18 and R15bn in 2018-19, which will mean a reduction in head counts. The parliamentary liaison officer for the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu), Tengo Tengewa, told MPs during public hearings on the budget by Parliament’s finance committees that general administration workers were in line for a "drastic cut" in numbers. "It is regrettable to note that Treasury is still stuck in the old neoliberal rationality that sees the compensation of employees as wasteful compensation expenditure," Tengewa said. "Such spending is actually investment in human development and actually makes economic growth sustainable and contributes towards social cohesion. "In our view reducing the spending ceilings narrowly focused on targeting public service wage...
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