CHALLENGE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS

The second highest cost driver is inflexible staff costs.

Many of the structural cost drivers affecting municipalities originate in national frameworks. Municipalities that wish to challenge these frameworks, are themselves bound by preferential procurement constraints that limit flexibility in appointing specialised litigation teams.

Staff costs can be contained by challenging nationally binding collective bargaining agreements. It cannot be justified that municipal staff costs are determined by collective bargaining agreements, while the majority of the ratepayers are not assured of similar increases. This challenge could start by performing research into the salary increases received by its ratepayers and use this to formulate to design amendments to labour legislation that does not allow for collective bargaining agreements to undermine the sustainability of municipalities. These amendments could be submitted in a private bill in parliament.