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 A YEAR'S PAY:
President Jacob Zuma: R2.6-million
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and national speaker Max Sisulu: R2.3-million.
Cabinet Ministers R2-million
Deputy Ministers R1.6-million
Backbencher MPs R889,000
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng R2.3-million  

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An urgent meeting of the three social partners was convened on Friday evening by President Zuma, BD Live reports. The meeting aimed to put together a stakeholder agreement which would set out measures and time frames to normalise industrial relations and restore investor confidence.

Two successive downgrades by ratings agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s — the latest announced on Friday just before the summit — have rattled the President and his Cabinet, and prompted appeals by both Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan that government take steps to deal with the crisis.

The tripartite meeting will convene again on Wednesday, after which participants hope to announce a package of measures to calm striking workers and demonstrate to investors that the government is addressing their concerns.

However, several participants said there was already consensus that the 12-month salary freeze for those at the top should be among the immediate measures agreed to.

South Africa is among the countries with the highest income disparities in the world. The Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, has widened further in the post-apartheid period to 0.7 from 0.66 in 1994.

Zuma and all public representatives were in April awarded a 5.5% wage increase, which took the president’s package to R2.6 million.

Business Unity South Africa president Jabu Mabuza said there was a general recognition that income disparities were playing a role in fuelling strikers’ anger.

"All executives, starting from the president to executives in business, will be asked to show restraint. We must show that we are not only expecting workers to tighten their belts by agreeing not to take salary increases for at least 12 months …. It is wrong that while people are dying for R12,500 a month, there are displays of obscene wealth," Mabuza said.

Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Sdumo Dlamini said executive wage restraint would help to promote social cohesion.

"If everyone in the executive and executives in the private sector takes a decision for wage restraint, it will send a strong message that we are confronting the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality," he said.

The rest of the package is under negotiation by a task team of two representatives from each constituency taking part. The agreement will also give greater effect to government programmes. One area will be housing, where discussions are taking place with particular focus on mining communities, where informal housing and the absence of basic services feature strongly in complaints.

Source: BDLive

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Thu May 23 12:19:15 SAST 2013 ::

Oct 16, 2012

Voetzek

Lets them freezes his salary first, i hate this man to an extend that im about to puke
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Oct 16, 2012

Maratachelete

Even if you take the salary freeze,I don't it will make a diffrence in your pockets,when the government does everything for you.Pays your bond,car and everything else.So,I don't see a point of this exercise.
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Oct 16, 2012

oldlady12

Good idea. And maybe freeze renovations and buying new cars and all that other jazz too.
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Oct 16, 2012

warry

Is intention to make ordinary workers think we all suffering. I don't think it's a solution.
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Oct 16, 2012

MommaC

Haven't they all just given themselves raises already?
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Oct 16, 2012

MGEEZ

@oldlady12
Good idea. And maybe freeze renovations and buying new cars and all that other jazz too.
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Even a better idea.
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Oct 16, 2012

Pointman

Will make no difference to their pockets. They will receive the benefits in different ways - company car, higher bonuses, accommodation etc like @Maratachelete above says.
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Oct 16, 2012

MicaParis

This might not be a long term solution but however if people are doing great things and coming with short term unusual ideas, they must be congratulated even though their salaries are not doing anything because they get almost everything for free.
Sometimes I even wonder why we pay this people in the first place, because their salaries are not supporting them like ordinary people!
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Oct 16, 2012

Vhamsanda

Very clever President. He asks bosses to agree to salary freeze after lining his own pocket first.
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Oct 16, 2012

Charley4sure

Lets freeze his salary first. This thing is a liability.
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