The recent ruling by the Constitutional Court supporting the government’s decision not to award wage increases to public servants, has predictably drawn a lot of reaction from various quarters.
At the heart of the matter though, it has, I believe brought to the fore the cruel reality that the employed in the country, particularly those in ‘sheltered employment’ have become almost an exclusive club, ringfenced from the awful reality caused by the chronic unemployment that plagues our economy.
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And as with any exclusive club, the members fiercely guard their privileges and benefits. While I am not insensitive to the economic pressures all of us are under, it is undeniable that those with permanent jobs are in a better position to weather the storm.
This was the point Steven Grootes made during his programme on SAFM the other morning in response to a representative of the Public Servants Association who used this argument.
Steven went on to illustrate his point by referencing the R350 social relief grants which have thus far cost the fiscus around R40-bn, but have supported over five million indigent, mainly unemployed people, whereas the cost of the wage increment, in the region of R38-bn, would only benefit around a million public service workers.
Another point that is conveniently ignored by public servants is that they continued to draw their full salaries throughout the ravages of the Covid pandemic, while millions of private sector jobs were lost or workers suffered curtailed benefits.
More generally, the recent ructions at SAA and the SABC around retrenchments have revealed astonishing details in terms of the perks and benefits employees of these entities enjoyed, with working hours, leave, housing and medical benefits far outstripping those of private sector employees.
Not for a moment did these workers demur, as their packages got sweeter and sweeter, or give a thought for their juniors, or the unemployed masses.
It reminds me of the words ascribed to Queen Marie-Antoinette during the French Revolution, when being told that the peasants had no bread to eat sniffed and suggested ‘ let them eat cake’.
For those who don’t know, she was beheaded by guillotine a few years after uttering these words. If urgent attention is not given to the chronic, debilitating and frankly explosive unemployment situation, an uprising akin to the French Revolution of the 17th century is not unthinkable.
And for all those advocating for the State to embark on a massive employment drive through its SOEs or to enter economic spaces in the private sector, there is a clear object lessons in the experience of SAA, the SABC, Denel, where for all intents and purposes the ballooning wage costs and benefits crowded out any room in the operations for efficiency, improved performance and investment in research and development.
Vijay Naidoo is the CEO of the Port Shepstone Business Forum. He writes in his personal capacity. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.
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