LETTER: Public service salary cuts will resolve several issues
Unions should see the sense in preserving the maximum number of government jobs through wage cuts
Perhaps new thinking is necessary about the vexed problem of bloated employment by all the various organs of state. It is acknowledged by all rational people that the ANC can no longer continue to buy votes at taxpayers' expense with state employment. The state's salary bill growth must be first contained and then reduced.
However, it must also be acknowledged that for the vast majority of our people holding a job with an assured wage or salary is of prime importance. The unions do have a point, to a limited extent. Instead of fixating on the number of people employed, why not consider the total of the remuneration available and reducing the amount paid to each individual? With a reduced amount available the choice offered to employees, negotiated through their unions, should be simple — either accept a reduced number of employees at current levels of pay or reduce the level of pay, in a negotiated manner, and retain the absolute level of employee numbers...
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