The Speaker of the North West Provincial Legislature, Viola Motsumi, has promised to engage the Provincial Treasury to secure funds for the agreed salary increases and the six-month back-payment backlog for National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) members.
This follows a crucial engagement meeting on Tuesday between Motsumi, her Deputy, Collen Maine, the Secretary to the Legislature, Advocate Lutendo Netshitumbu, and NEHAWU.
Speaking on YOU FM Newshour, Motsumi said the high-level meeting focused on finding a resolution for the implementation of outstanding Bargaining Council resolutions regarding employee salary increases.
“It has been an intensive six months of deliberations between us as the Legislature management and union leadership, and we finally reached an amicable agreement.
“I think it’s important to clarify this issue: NEHAWU is the majority union representing workers in the Provincial Legislature, to avoid unnecessary confusion.
“In fact, it was the national leadership of NEHAWU that negotiated this deal at the Bargaining Council, while we are also represented by the legislatures.
“The Bargaining Council reached a conclusion over the past 12 months and agreed with NEHAWU on a salary increase,” said Motsumi.
She has, however, acknowledged that the Provincial Legislature is currently facing a severe financial shortfall.
“We make this point because NEHAWU was also, among others, negotiating for a once-off R20,000 payment to each of its members, and we did indicate to them that, due to financial constraints, we would not be able to fulfil the agreement.
“Remember, we were supposed to implement this agreement by 1 April because it is mandatory after the agreement was reached. We were the only legislature that could not implement the agreement because we continued to engage NEHAWU to explain our financial difficulties,” explained Motsumi.
The Speaker has also committed to engaging the Provincial Treasury to ensure that finances are available to pay workers.
“We have agreed as the Legislature to dip into our financial reserves to ensure that we meet the agreement.
“We continue to engage with the Provincial Treasury to make sure there are enough funds set aside for the permanent salary increases of our workers.
“It is important to also acknowledge that it is because of these workers that we can meet our constitutional mandate and do our work as legislators,” added Motsumi.
The Legislature leadership reaffirmed its commitment to prioritising worker welfare and honouring the Council’s resolutions.
Both parties agreed to finalise the salary increase percentage this month, while back-pay processing will take effect this week, covering the six-month period from April to September 2026.
Both the Legislature and NEHAWU expressed mutual satisfaction with the collaborative outcome, emphasising that the agreement restores labour stability and ensures that workers receive their long-awaited adjustments.
