Broke Tshwane wants to cut a deal on R1.5bn salary backpay

As deadline and more increases loom.

The Tshwane metro council is trying to cut a deal with municipal unions Samwu and Imatu to delay the implementation of a bargaining council ruling that compels it to implement a 3.5% salary increase outstanding since the 2021/22 financial year, including R1.5 billion in backpay.

The ruling, made in November last year, denied the metro exemption from the increase agreed upon at national bargaining council level, rejecting the employer’s plea that it was unaffordable, and ordered payment within six months.

Read: Bargaining council ruling ‘ruinous’ for City of Tshwane Tshwane won’t appeal order to backdate salary increases Tshwane ruling – ‘courts are eroding the power of unions’

Controversial Tshwane deputy mayor, the ANC’s Eugene Modise, who is also member of the mayoral committee for finance, at the time issued a statement giving assurance that the metro would comply with the order and refrain from taking it on review – and the unions seem determined to hold the city to that.

‘Unaffordable’ and yet …

Meanwhile, the council continues to pay a monthly allowance of R35 000 each to 63 metropolitan police officers attached to the VIP protection unit in lieu of overtime.

This was not budgeted for and most of the politicians and the few officials who enjoy VIP protection are, in terms of the law, not entitled to it.

Read: Tshwane VIP protectors to earn big bucks

The council, then led by DA mayor and now mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink, also failed to implement the 2023/24 increase on the basis of affordability, and had to face a three-month long violent strike as a result.

It was however vindicated early last year when the council took an unfavourable ruling by the bargaining council on review in the Labour Court.

ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW Read: Tshwane boots 55 more workers in pay strike
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Payday came, but not for all Tshwane employees

The 2021/22 exemption was, however, referred back to the bargaining council, which ruled in November that Tshwane must pay the increases retrospectively within six months.

In his response to the ruling, Modise did add to his promise of compliance that the ruling will be implemented taking into account the council’s financial position, without sacrificing fairness or service delivery.

Unions unimpressed with proposal

But the unions and their members in Tshwane are unimpressed with the plan presented to them by city manager Johann Mettler a week ago.

Mettler outlined two alternatives in a letter seen by Moneyweb:

1. From 1 March, workers would receive a 3.5% salary increase (almost R500 million per year) and the council would pay half of the outstanding amount, which totals about R1.5 billion, as a final settlement over two years, starting on 1 July; or
2. The 3.5% increase from 1 March, plus the full outstanding amount from 1 July, spread over five years – about R300 million per year.

Donald Monakisi, Samwu secretary in Tshwane, says workers insist the council may not deviate from the bargaining council’s decision.

Lynette Burns-Coetzee, Imatu regional manager in Tshwane, says its members are also reluctant to accept the council’s proposal.

“The council has been working on this proposal since November and now they are giving us only a week to decide,” she says.

“That is too little time. We need to go back to our members to get a mandate, but I am already receiving numerous messages from members who are opposed to it.”

The union will ask for a postponement and seek legal advice on the possibility of attaching the council’s assets if it fails to comply with the ruling.

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Burns-Coetzee says if it comes to that, Imatu will aim to attach the council’s bank account “and also the city manager’s chair and desk”.

The council has meanwhile squandered its chances – which, according to the DA, were excellent – to take the ruling on review in the Labour Court and have it set aside.

‘Reasonable settlement ‘could have been possible’

Brink says Tshwane has for some time been under severe financial pressure that has necessitated difficult decisions.

“No one wants to refuse salary increases, because you want a motivated workforce,” he says.

He believes the council could have reached a reasonable settlement with the unions, but that Modise’s statement destroyed the council’s negotiating position.

“The council must now give effect to the default position, namely that it must implement the increase and pay the full outstanding amount within six months.”

He believes there is an increasing risk that the council could reach a point where it can no longer pay salaries. This does not bode well for service delivery.

Read: Western Cape municipalities and Midvaal are the only ones in any kind of shape

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A source close to the city’s finances previously told Moneyweb that if the council has to comply with the ruling, it would have to retrench staff to balance the books.

New wage increases

In addition to these outstanding increases, a five-year wage agreement for municipalities was concluded last year.

In terms of this, workers received a 6% increase in 2025.

This year and next year the increases will each be equal to the inflation rate plus 0.75%, and in the following two years 1.25% above the inflation rate.

Brink also believes the current political leadership – a coalition between ActionSA, the ANC, the Patriotic Alliance (PA), African Independent Congress (AIC), Democratic Independent Party (DIP or DOP), Good, African Transformation Movement (ATM), and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) – “suspects that they will not be in power again after the election”, and that this is when the cash-flow crisis will be at its worst.

Meanwhile, both Samwu and Imatu are taking steps to challenge the astronomical allowances paid to the VIP guards. According to Samwu, it has lodged an objection and the matter has been referred back to the local labour forum.

Imatu says mediation with the metro council on the issue has failed and it is now turning to the bargaining council for arbitration, because the council has, in its view, incorrectly interpreted the collective agreement.

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