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- Zwelinzima Vavi, the general-secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Unions, said the union was opposed to budget cuts.
- Vavi said cuts had already affected the infrastructure of schools and public institutions.
- The union demanded a 10% wage increase for public service workers and funds to capitalise the SA Post Office.
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has demanded that budget cuts be reversed and spending in "critical areas of service delivery" be increased.
On Tuesday, the union released a pre-budget statement ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's budget speech on Wednesday.
Saftu is also demanding a 10% wage increase for public service workers, such as teachers, nurses, and police; a monthly universal basic income grant of R1 500; and allocating more funds to the Post Office.
In its statement, Saftu general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the union opposed the budget cut on public services that was tabled in the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS).
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Vavi said the cuts had reduced the availability of jobs in various departments, leading to a shortage of working equipment and a lack of infrastructure, maintenance, and repairs.
These cuts had affected the condition of schools and public institutions, the union leader said.
Vavi said:
He added that because of the lack of funding there had been a backlog in the construction of laboratories, libraries and classrooms, and the employment of teachers.
The union said the proposed budget cuts from 2022/23 to 2023/24 in the MTBPS would mainly affect the departments of health and home affairs, and the South African Police Service. According to Saftu's statement, the budget for health will decline by R2.3 billion, home affairs by R600 million and SAPS by R400 million.
Vavi said the budget cuts had negatively impacted state-owned enterprises such as the SA Post Office, but it was not mentioned in the MTBPS.
"The government has not committed to helping [the Post Office] despite [the fact] that it requires more than R8 billion to be recapitalised, according to its CEO. Meanwhile, the SA Post Office is carrying out its restructuring in the most brutal manner – attacking jobs and wages simultaneously," he said.
