The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) fully agrees with the call by its affiliate, the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) for the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and National Treasury to stop undermining the collective bargaining process.

SAMWU is set to return to the bargaining council for the third and final round of salary negotiations from 12 to 16 August. SAMWU takes its mandate from workers very seriously, to settle for nothing less than a substantial wage increase that reflects the true worth of municipal workers. The union was therefore not impressed by SALGA's attempts to exclude municipalities who are financially distressed from the collective agreement, saying such exclusion would unfairly penalise workers for matters they have no control of.

COSATU applauds SAMWU for its commitment to fight for the inclusion of all municipalities in any settlement reached. Workers have been battered time and again as some municipalities repeatedly fail to pay salaries on time. The Federation stands firmly behind SAMWU as it declares, this far and no further.

COSATU is aghast at National Treasury's advisory that municipalities should budget for wage increases between 3% and 6% when the cost of living has skyrocketed. According to Statistics SA, prices of basics such as bread, maize meal, oil, meat and utilities edged up in June. Meanwhile, the South African Reserve Bank kept the repo rate steady in July, leaving workers no room to manoeuvre.

The Federation agrees with its no nonsense affiliate, SAMWU, that National Treasury would do better not to insert itself in matters between the negotiating parties at the bargaining council. As it enters the final round of negotiations, SAMWU must be assured of COSATU's 100% backing to demand a substantial increase that ensures a living wage for all municipal workers.