Hikes will be 'easily deferred

Move to exempt struggling metros from wage increases now less onerous’.

- Antoinette Slabbert

A revamped exemption clause in the municipal salary and wage agreement reached last week will make it less onerous for the 157 financially distressed municipalities to get an exemption if they cannot afford to pay their staff the increases set for each year until 2029.

This is according to Zwe Ndlala, senior manager for collective bargaining and labour relations at employer body South African Local Government Association (Salga), which represents all 257 municipalities.

This is after only one of the 18 applications received since 2020 was approved.

Most notable was the City of Tshwane's application for 2023-24, which was dismissed. The city nevertheless failed to implement the wage agreement, which led to a violent, unprotected three-month-long strike. The metro, under the leadership of mayor Cilliers Brink, refused to budge and has been fighting for exemption ever since, arguing the increase was unaffordable for the cash-strapped city.

The matter is in the Labour Court and has been set down for hearing in November.