The City of Cape Town says it can’t afford above-average wage increases. File picture: Brendan Magaar / Independent Media.
The City of Cape Town is digging its heels in over the above-average salary increases that have been proposed for municipal workers in the region.
A facilitator’s report to the South African Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC) recommends that municipal wages be increased by around 5% in 2024/25. It further proposes that wage increases should be pegged at 0.75% above the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the following two years and 1.25% above for the two subsequent financial years.
However, this would come at a cost that the City says it cannot afford. It calculated that the proposed above-average increases for the four-year period – from 2025/26 to 2028/29, would lead to a budget shortfall of R2.06 billion.
“The shortfall is not sustainable for the City, which has today rejected the facilitator’s proposal, recommending to SALGA that the proposal for years two to five must rather be linked to CPI with no additional percentage increases,” the City of Cape Town said in a statement.
“This is so as to align with the City’s affordability and long-term sustainability.”
It said SALGA would consolidate feedback from its provincial structures before formulating a national position on the wage proposals in the facilitator’s report.
The City said it remained hopeful that fiscal prudence would prevail and that any agreed increases would align with municipal and rate-payer affordability.
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