Johannesburg – The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU), says it condemns President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to approve salary increases of 3.5% and 4% for public office-bearers across different categories.
The increments follow recommendations by the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office-Bearers.
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Commenting on the increases on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, NEHAWU said: “We find this decision completely unprincipled and insensitive to the harsh socio-economic realities confronting the overwhelming majority of South Africans, particularly workers and the working class”.
The union added: “Our people continue to grapple with high unemployment, poverty, inequality and the rising cost of living; the approval of these salary increases sends a deeply troubling message about the priorities of those entrusted with public leadership”.
NEHAWU said the decision to approve the salary hikes for public office bearers occurs against the background of an economy that remains stagnant with a low growth rate for the foreseeable future.
“This is largely as a result of the dogmatic pursuance and implementation of neo-liberal macroeconomic policies centred on austerity measures,” the union said.
“These policies have been reproducing the prevailing crisis levels in the rates of unemployment, poverty and inequality.
NEHAWU said implementation of austerity measures has had a devastating impact on the capacity and capability of the state to fulfil its constitutional obligations, particularly its responsibility to provide quality public services to the working class and the rural poor.
“The public service has been systematically weakened through years of budget cuts, the freezing and non-filling of critical vacancies, understaffing and the erosion of institutional capacity,” NEHAWU said.
“Consequently, workers in the public service are expected to deliver essential services under increasingly difficult conditions, often without the necessary human and material resources.
“It is therefore unacceptable that public office-bearers should receive salary increases while public servants continue to face difficult working conditions, inadequate staffing levels and persistent challenges relating to remuneration and the delivery of public services.”
NEHAWU added: “We find it particularly concerning that these increases are being approved amidst the deepening socio-economic crisis confronting our country.
“The current crisis of unemployment, poverty and inequality has brought about misery, pain and suffocation to workers and the working class in its entirety, thereby threatening their livelihoods.
“Public Office Bearers should not be exempted from the conditions and plight that confront the rest of the country.”
The union called on President Ramaphosa to reconsider his decision and for the government to focus its priority on addressing the pressing socio-economic challenges facing the country.
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