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Inside Labour: Ministers rake it in as nurses struggle

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South Africa is desperately short of nurses, and many highly skilled practitioners are now older than 50 and therefore nearing retirement.

Yet there are estimated to be more than 30 000 South African nurses working abroad, from Dubai to Dublin.

There is also a shortage of teachers, and many who are highly qualified have left schools and colleges here to not only get more experience but earn more money abroad in usually much better conditions.

They form part of what is regularly referred to as a “bloated civil service”.

Some critics of those who have left to work abroad have also now dubbed those workers unpatriotic. They are not. They are part of the international army of migrant labour, often forced by economic circumstance to live apart from their families for years at a time.

Many have families who rely on their remittances, often to provide children with a better future. This is to the general benefit of society and the country.

In any event, since capital knows no boundaries – especially in this globalised world – labour should not accept any either. Any more than workers should become patriotic.

Patriotism, a term loved by politicians, implies unquestioning support for a government and the social and economic system it promotes. So every trade unionist – and every thinking person – should be proudly unpatriotic.

Critical analysis is crucial.

Such analysis reveals that the pay structure in the civil service is skewed and that the wage and welfare gap between the lowest and highest paid is growing year by year.

I pointed this out last week, comparing the pay of an auxiliary nurse with decades of experience to that of a departmental director.

“But why didn’t you compare what we get with ministers and others in government?” a paramedic asked, stating: “They are also civil servants.”

In one sense, he is right. Those in Parliament and government are our elected representatives. And it is taxpayers’ money that covers their pay and perks.

Certainly, compared with even the most lowly backbench MP, who may say or do little in Parliament, the difference is stark.

Added to basic pay of R82 821 a month, there are many benefits that take the value of an MP’s package to well beyond R1 million a year.

Included are 86 free economy flights, top-of-the-range communications equipment and an allocation of R4 900 a year to cover internet and data services and insurance. Travel perks also extend to some members of an MP’s family. And there is subsidised housing, along with free electricity and domestic and gardening services.

This is the minimum position for an MP. But once elevated to the post of one of the 35 ministerial or 37 deputy ministerial posts, the rewards are much greater. The wage and welfare gap between these high flyers and the civil service ranks is also growing, even with lesser percentage pay increases.

After a 5% increase worth R8 777.50 a month, the basic monthly salary of a Cabinet minister is R184 328. Together with President Jacob Zuma (R2.75 million a year) and his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa (R2.6 million), the total annual salary bill for the Cabinet alone comes to a little less than R145 million.

However, there are also the 37 deputy ministers, each paid R151 798 a month – which adds R68.4 million to the annual salary bill. There are also commensurate perks at these levels and one estimate puts the cost at close to R1 billion a year.

Little wonder then that public service workers are becoming increasingly angry about their lot. But perhaps more thought should also be given to the majority of those in work who earn, on average, less than R4 000 a month.

So rather than making a minimum wage or higher pay rises the priority, perhaps unions should demand an adequate basic income grant for all, while taking steps to close the wage and welfare gaps in both the public and private sectors

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