HOSPERSA SHOCKED BY CONCOURT JUDGEMENT ON PUBLIC SERVANTS WAGE DISPUTE
HOSPERSA SHOCKED BY CONCOURT JUDGEMENT ON PUBLIC SERVANTS WAGE DISPUTE
28 February 2022
Hospersa, a union with more than 50 000 members in the public service, is utterly disappointed by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) judgement delivered earlier this morning. The ConCourt ruled that the 2018 multi term agreement reached at the Public Service and Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC Resolution 1 of 2018) is invalid and not binding. Hospersa has labelled the judgement as another move where workers are being made scapegoats for Government’s poor administration and planning.
Earlier today, the Concourt issued the long awaited ruling regarding the wage increase dispute between public service employees and the State (the employer). The ruling highlights that the then Minister in the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) entered the wage negotiations with Unions in the PSCBC without the necessary legal authority and thus rendered the wage agreement invalid. As a result, public service employees will not be receiving their back-dated salary increases for the year 2020/21 which the employer refused to implement. Hospersa is utterly gutted by this judgement and its legal team will be studying it further.
“Hospersa is extremely shocked by this ConCourt judgement,” said Hospersa Legal Department Manager Sean McGladdery. This judgement says that employers can renege on wage agreements as and when they please which undermines the process of wage negotiations,” added McGladdery.
“Whilst we understand that the country is experiencing economic difficulty, it is the workers who are being made to bear the brunt and have now become economic scapegoats for poor planning and administration,” said McGladdery. “Hospersa respects the judgement of the apex court. Our legal team will study it in detail to find a way forward,” concluded McGladdery.
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For interviews please contact Hospersa Legal Department Manager Sean McGladdery – 060 537 5132 .
Hospersa – Worker Empowerment