Johannesburg - The Public Servants Association (PSA) says that although the public sector is the country’s biggest employer, it continues to face severe challenges owing to the government's poor resource management, fraud, and corruption.
The PSA said this had resulted in multiple challenges such as understaffing, poor remuneration and worker benefits, attacks on collective bargaining gains, and low morale among public servants.
The PSA said that ensuring that an organisation had adequate workers to execute day-to-day duties boosted productivity and workplace morale. Being understaffed increased public servants’ workload and affected service delivery.
"Public servants are unable to cope because of undercapacitation and extended suspensions, as they are expected to take on the responsibilities of suspended co-workers. These are some of the contributors to service-delivery failures, as manifested by ongoing service delivery protests by disgruntled citizens," read a PSA statement.
According to the PSA, long-term suspensions in the public sector create a void in departments, resulting in poor service delivery outcomes. In this regard, the PSA has registered an unfair labour practice dispute under Section 186(2)(b) of the Labour Relations Act, challenging the unfair suspension of some of the union’s members for more than 60 days.
"The PSA further continues to push the Department of Public Service and Administration to address capacity issues while also attracting young individuals to the public service to address the impact of age-related retirements and resignations," added the statement.
As tomorrow is Public Service Day, the PSA says that it serves as a reminder of the importance and virtue of being in service. It is a call to innovate, to improve professionalism, to raise the profile of the public service, and to restore faith in the public service.
"However, public servants cannot achieve these goals if their basic needs are left unattended. Housing, medical aid support, fair remuneration, and the completion of all pending agreements have the potential to transform the country's service delivery, lure young people to the service, and repair the public service's tarnished image," said the PSA.
The Star