‘Excessive wage hikes could prompt job losses’ - South Africa | Moneyweb ow.ly/3tBQPv Pretoria – Government has warned that if increases in public-sector wages are considerably higher than official inflation numbers, job cuts cannot be ruled out. In the wake of negotiations for a new public-sector wage agreement, the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) noted that limiting the growth of government’s wage bill would form an integral part of balancing the books. The warning comes amidst a slowing economy and pressure on the fiscus. “Wage settlements should protect workers’ purchasing power, with any upward adjustments matched by productivity improvements. “If increases in public-sector wages significantly outpace inflation, government will be forced to curtail service delivery – either by reducing social spending or capital budgets, or by trimming staff numbers,” the MTBPS said.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 14:30:10 +0000