Pretoria – The Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers has taken several steps to address pay disparities in the public service.
In a statement on Thursday, the commission said it had made several recommendations relating to salaries, benefits, allowances and the resources required by public office bearers to do their jobs effectively.
Following several consultations with ministers, judicial representatives and remuneration committee members, it was recommended that civil servants earning below R500 000 would get a 7% increase, while those in the R500 000 to R800 000 bracket would get a 5% hike.
Those earning between R800 000 to R1 million would get a 4% adjustment, while those earning R1 million and above would get no increase.
While the commission considered the rising cost of living and the economic and social environment, amongst others, the recommendations were anchored on dealing with the wage gap between the lower bracket and top echelons to deal with the inequality and to set an example for the private sector to follow suit.
“The effective date for salary adjustment is 1 April 2013 and for local government public office bearers is 1 July 2013. The adjustment is recommended in order to align the recommendation with the financial year of public office bearers’ institutions,” the statement read.
The commission further recommended that a basic salary component equal to 60% of the total package, which constitutes the pensionable salary of magistrates, be increased to 70% with effect from 01 April 2013, similar to senior managers in public service.
The recommendations, which were published on 18 December 2013, have been forwarded to President Jacob Zuma and Parliament for consideration. – SAnews.gov.za
