The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) says the union has consulted with their lawyers and is considering taking legal action against the salary increases of municipal managers.

"We have consulted with our lawyers and we are still awaiting the legal advice. Once we get feedback we will proceed‚" Samwu's Simon Mathe said.

The union said in a statement: "As gazetted on November 8‚ city managers are set to receive an annual salary of R3.9-million while those reporting directly to municipal managers will be receiving more than R3-million annually."

Mathe said these increases come at a time when municipal workers are "heavily underpaid‚ whereas those sitting in air-conditioned offices [are] swimming in pools of money...

"These increases are extended at a time wherein municipalities are intensifying their strategy of delivering services through the use of the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP)‚ hence their reluctance to fill vacancies‚" Mathe added.

He said it was a "shame" that EPWP workers' salaries were increased by R4‚31 per day.

"It does not make sense how a municipal manager can be remunerated 180 times more than the least-paid employee in the sector. These are the people who are responsible for the real business of service delivery.

"We maintain that the ridiculous and highly-inflated salaries given to municipal managers could should be redirected towards service delivery and for better remunerating municipal workers‚" he said.

- TMG Digital.