3 September 2018
The Public and Allied Workers Union [PAWUSA] is distraught by the confirmation by the It has been confirmed by the Deputy President of the country, Honourable DD Mabuza, that the public service will be scaled down as part of cost-cutting measures.
During a question and answer session yesterday at the National Assembly the Deputy President further reinforced the assertion made by the President of the country, Honourable Cyril Ramaphosa, during the State of the Nation address in February 2018 that there is impending jobs cuts and intentions to reduce the wage bill in the public service. PAWUSA reject any reconfiguration of government that will result in a job bloodbath. When the media ran a story about government’s plan to shed jobs the union warned government about such a detrimental move and vowed to retaliate to this intention of the employer. Very recently the Department of Public Service and Administration [DPSA] Minister Ayanda Dlodlo quickly issued a statement to allay our fears and dispelled the notion of the impending job losses.
We are, however, infuriated by the confirmation by the Deputy President that the public service will be scaled down as part of austerity measures. As things stand, the public service is already heavily understaffed because of austerity measures introduced by National Treasury. PAWUSA rejects the tired widely held but false belief that the public service is bloated. Currently we have about 1, 3 million public servants servicing a population of 52 million people. The lack of adequate personnel in the public service has resulted in service delivery being adversely affected especially in health and education.
PAWUSA together with other unions will immediately start the process of mobilisation in the public service and society at large in preparation for a big fight against austerity measures and retrenchments. Working with other Cosatu public sector in the Bargaining council we will seek a meeting in the joint management committee to sharply raise these issues. We also call on society at large to join our fight to save jobs.
In the sight of this, we want to put it unequivocally clear that we will mobilise our members not to support the ANC (as the employer) in next year General Elections if it continues to fold its arms while job losses continue unabated. Workers and the public at large now have to suffer the consequences of a corrupted government. Comrades the ANC as well as other political parties does not carry your interest at heart. See for yourself what is happening at the state capture hearings and they want to make us believe that these testimonies have to be tested. That a person is innocent until proven guilty, well they have proven us enough. They fill their pockets build their interest and the others is history. They are not your friends nor your family. Raise your voice to the interest of your families and communities who will suffer.
Together with other unions Pawusa will take this matter to the upcoming COSATU 13th National Congress where we will have to discuss this matter extensively and if we don’t find relief in the ANC then we might be compelled to support another organisation.
If the ANC is serious about retaining power then it must not gamble with workers jobs. Workers have been consistently voting for the ruling party since the 1994 General Elections but it need to change if the ANC does not take seriously the issue of job security.
Issued by Pawusa Secretariat
Abdul Hadee Vent (General Secretary) at 072 697 1596; Godfrey Soetmelk (National Head -Bargaining) at 082 742 5163;