Worst time for hike strike

When things are bad you can rely on unions to make matters worse, even when they know they are causing damage. Today’s planned strike by union federations can only deepen South Africa’s economic crisis which is already dire, with record levels of debt and unemployment.

Treasury says gross national government debt will increase to R3.97 trillion (81.8% of GDP) in 2020-21. The figures are staggering. If government commits to spend the R38 billion required to meet public sector union wage demands, debt will grow. And investor confidence in our junk-rated economy will sink further.

While 2.2 million South African jobs were shed in the second quarter, government employees were cocooned from this bloodbath. Many have not worked during the Covid-19 lockdown. Nor have they lost their jobs. Thousands still employed in the private sector have seen their income reduced, as have the self-employed.

Yet unionised government workers, out of touch with these realities, are demanding above-inflation increases, based on agreements before the pandemic. The destructive attitude of Cosatu is noteworthy.

Bloomberg news agency quotes the federation’s general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali as saying: “We are quite aware that a strike in itself is damaging to the economy, but sitting down and doing nothing is not helpful because the entire economy will collapse if no action is taken. It is better to bite the bullet now and be counted amongst those who are raising crucial issues very sharply.”

So, they know they will be damaging the economy but they must be seen doing something. Ntshalintshali says the economy will collapse if no action is taken. Common sense suggests the economy will suffer greater harm from the planned strike. Ntshalintshali talks of raising crucial issues sharply.

The most critical issue he is highlighting is the irresponsibility of union leadership at a time when cool heads are needed. As former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson says to Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix TV series The Crown, a task of leadership “is to calm more crises than we create”.

Union leaders are immune to such imperialist/colonialist suggestions. Desperate for relevance as their memberships shrink, they are hell-bent on precipitating crisis. The issues strikers supposedly want to highlight include poverty, crime, inequality, corruption, unemployment and gender-based violence. All are valid but there is no need to shut down an ailing economy to publicise any of this. The core issue is wage increases.

The public sector wage bill accounts for a third of government expenditure (taxpayers’ money). That’s more than enough, especially as we don’t get value for money. At the time of writing, the government is commendably opposing these demands, in the labour court and elsewhere.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and the entire Cabinet have a historic responsibility to the whole nation to hold the line against destructive unions. This must transcend other loyalties, including the outdated tripartite alliance. If Cosatu choose to snub the ANC’s national executive committee or any other forum, let them do so.

The economic survival of South Africa is more important.

Martin Williams, DA councillor and former editor of The Citizen.

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