SA's sizeable and costly public sector

[Mila]

According to trade union Uasa's 2012 Employment Report, the average gross wages of government employees are higher than the average gross wages across all sectors in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of mostly rich countries.

Net wages after taxes in the South African government are higher than net wages in Germany, Sweden and Finland, on a dollar purchasing power parity basis.

The report showed government salaries account for more than 12.8% of GDP and, when the salaries paid by state-owned enterprises are added, it increases to more than 14.3% of GDP.

Mike Schüssler, economist at Economists.co.za, who compiled the report for Uasa, a multi-sector union with 73,000 members, said the public sector has grown from 11% of total employment in 1970 to 22.8% today.

"This means SA has more civil servants than the total number of people employed in mining and manufacturing combined. We cannot have more people in the government than we have people producing things. This is apart from the fact that more people get an income from welfare than from employment," he said.

The state salary bill was about R382-billion last year, which could have paid for 19 Gauteng Freeway Improvement Projects.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said in his February budget the public sector wage bill was the largest component of current expenditure. He allowed for only a 5% cost of living adjustment for public servants, excluding pay progression, in the 2012-13 budget.

The report states it is specifically the wages of unskilled and semi-skilled workers which are too high - in the government and private sectors.

In the last 40 years the real unit labour cost in SA has increased twice as fast as the OECD's average.

"The cost of producing things in the rest of the world is falling, whereas in SA the cost of producing things is rising and that makes us less and less competitive," Schüssler said.

"Overpaid, unskilled workers are keeping other people out of employment. Lower level civil servants in SA, like cleaners, earn more than teachers in India or Brazil," said Schüssler.

http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/05/08/sa-s-sizeable-and-costly-public-sector more here.

So we have more people being paid by taxpayers than people working as taxpayers?

 

[Hemi300c]

We are proud to be the owners of the biggest train in the world. This train has routes to every corner of RSA and even beyond. This magnificent train is called the Gravy Train and boy does she run.........................

 

[Species8472]

We are proud to be the owners of the biggest train in the world. This train has routes to every corner of RSA and even beyond. This magnificent train is called the Gravy Train and boy does she run.........................

Run on what? Fuel is running out, this train is loosing momentum

 

[JungleBoy]

This excludes private companies hired by govt as consultants and those paid by way of tenders to deliver public services

 

[ponder]

Run on what? Fuel is running out, this train is loosing momentum

They can always tax you more and probably will

 

[Bizkit87]

This country is in such a corruptible mess, that I don't know when and where it will ever end, lets hope the majority of voters get pissed off with the ANC, and see past the "whites are evil, blame them for everything" routine that the ANC is pulling [aka the race card]

As long as the ANC can convince the majority of the 'white gevaar', they will continue to plunder and steal.

Divide and conquer, That should be their motto...