SABC STAFF PLANS
STEVEN FRIEDMAN: Taking bread from public servants’ mouths is not the only solution
Cutting jobs from the public service is not such an obvious solution to the financial crises facing state entities
Is retrenching public servants a last resort or a knee-jerk reaction? Plans to get rid of public service workers are fashionable. The government reportedly wants to reduce numbers by 30,000 but denies it will retrench anyone. The SABC is considering laying off people. These plans are bound to raise a cheer from economic commentators who love the thought of trimming down a bloated public service. But like all common wisdom, this one may not be nearly as wise as it seems. First, according to fellow columnist Neva Makgetla, the only commentator who seems to have bothered to research the issue before writing about it, our civil service is not “bloated”. She reminds us that 85% of public servants are not tea-swilling pen pushers but health, education, police and prison workers. Our ratio of teachers to pupils is half that of other upper middle-income countries. Second, killing jobs seems to be preferred even when other options are more logical. The SABC’s revenue depends partly on TV lic...
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