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Faced with probably the most difficult year of negotiations, Public Service and Administration Minister Faith Muthambi is determined to ensure that the Service Charter is adhered to, despite possible strike action.
Muthambi delivered the keynote address at the national labour relations practitioners forum held at the Royal Hotel in Durban on Wednesday.
She touched on various issues within the public service sector, mainly service delivery, as well as wage bill negotiations.
“The challenge we have is that the economic situation we find ourselves in, is not supportive of an ‘easy’ high [percentage]settlement on wages.
“We are faced with the most difficult year of negotiations since the inception of the democratic state,” the minister said.
There's a renewed commitment of the DPSA towards the implementation of all agreements signed at the PSCBC & Sector Councils-@faithmuthambi pic.twitter.com/fn8ZGeEY2X
— Batho Pele (@thedpsa) June 28, 2017
Muthambi also addressed the recent strikes that have swept through the country.
“As a country we have witnessed several strikes and potential strikes during the past months, the most recent being the dispute on working hours in the department of home affairs, the strike by social workers in the department of social development and the pathologists’ strike in the department of health.
“I am confident that both employers and employees have learnt valuable lessons from these incidents, and are still learning.
“Any strike in any format never has a winner or a loser. All are losers,” she said.
Min @faithmuthambi:signing a multi-year wage agreement will benefits all parties & allows for proper budgeting and governance process. pic.twitter.com/uCjrLCfssC
— Batho Pele (@thedpsa) June 28, 2017
Muthambi added that the department was working with various unions and will request them to encourage their members to adhere to the Service Charter.
“This I am confident will move us towards improving service delivery, actual performance and entrenching greater levels of professionalism within the Public Service,” Muthambi said.
Muthambi said that the department will propose use the public service month in September to launch a campaign “to remind all public servants about the significance of the Service Charter”.
“The core of this commitment is to provide citizens with better services while also respecting them as human beings.
“At the end, it is about establishing a caring relationship built on trust between civil servants and the citizens we work for,” she said.
