By Amukelani Chauke
Wage negotiations between government and public service unions often deadlock, resulting in employee representatives taking time to put ink on paper in wage bargaining chambers.
While the main aspect in multi-year agreements in most strikes is often a demand for salary increases, the size of the housing allowance has often been a thorny issue in constructive negotiations.
Let’s put this into context. During the 2012 negotiations, trade unions demanded a 10% wage increase and a home ownership scheme to be introduced and implemented, or alternatively, a R1 650 housing allowance.
The employer could only afford to offer a housing allowance of R900 up from R800.
In last year’s negotiations, a home ownership scheme once again topped the list of demands from union representatives.
As a result, service delivery took a knock and trade unions led public servants to the streets to strike for a better salary increase.
This has been a long-standing concern for government. A further challenge for some public servants who, despite earning an income, has been that they can’t even get a housing bond from the banks or qualify for low-cost housing.
Banks are yet to offer an adequate housing market for employees earning between R1 500 and R10 000 and this has led to individuals opting for rented flats.
The good news now is that government is currently in talks with the private sector to introduce a new housing scheme for public servants who fall under a pay bracket that cannot afford a home loan or qualify for low-cost housing.
Public Service and Administration Minister Collins Chabane announced this when briefing journalists prior to tabling the Budget Vote for his department in Parliament in mid-July.
His announcement comes after Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu also alluded to similar talks with banks to cater for the working class in the same pay bracket outside the public service.
Currently, government employees who are on level one to nine are paid a housing subsidy of R900 per month.
Minister Chabane said the plan to introduce a new housing scheme for public servants had already been discussed with labour unions. It would, once is finalised, form part of future wage negotiations.
He admits the housing market is simply not friendly enough to afford people at that level an opportunity to own a house.
A few months ago, the former Minister of Human Settlements Connie September, met with banks through the Banking Association of South Africa with the aim of negotiating similar packages for all South Africans that fall within a certain income bracket.
Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who returned to this portfolio when the new Cabinet was announced in May, reiterated the importance of attending to this market yet again.
South Africa has over one million employees who earn between R1 500 and R10 000 per month, searching for houses costing between R100 000 and R250 000.
The current backlog in the affordable market is estimated at 600 000 units.
The talks that Ministers Chabane and Sisulu are holding with the respective stakeholders are therefore crucial not only for public servants, but for South Africans at large. Amukelani Chauke is a freelance journalist writing for SAnews.gov.za. This is his opinion.
