SOUTH AFRICA
The South African Minister for Public Service and Administration, Ayanda Dlodlo (pictured) has sought to put the brakes on the Government’s early retirement scheme for its workers, saying Departments must retain their most skilled employees
Ms Dlodlo said it was not feasible for the Government to offer the early retirement option to all those who were eligible as it was unaffordable.
While the Treasury is budgeting to make the payouts to about 30,000 employees between the ages of 55 and 59, there are around 127,000 who are in that eligible age bracket.
Applicants are offered the opportunity to take early retirement without penalties to their pensions as the Government tries to contain the skyrocketing wage bill that accounts for 35 per cent of consolidated public spending.
Ms Dlodlo said her intervention was to “prevent chaos in the Public Service and a mass exodus of its most experienced workers”.
She said she had directed Ministerial Departments and other spheres of Government to weigh the odds carefully when deciding whom they wanted to let go.
Ms Dlodlo admitted the exercise would not get the Government anywhere near its target of substantially reducing the public wage bill.
“We are R31.2 billion [A$3 billion] above the threshold, that’s what we’d like to reduce,” the Minister said.
“It’s not going to be possible but that’s the figure we all want to look at.”
Ms Dlodlo said the wage bill could not continue to be the second highest Budget expenditure item.
She also emphasised that the early retirement option was carried out within the ambit of the Public Service Act, saying there was continuous engagement with organised labour even though it had expressed disdain for the move.
In a separate statement, Ms Dlodlo said if she had her way employees in the public sector who were on suspension but still being paid would return to work.
“I’ve been saying to Departments, don’t bring in unnecessary skills,” Ms Dlodlo said.
“Ensure that people who are paid and are on suspension are utilised.”
Pretoria, 20 March 2019
