Press Release: IMATU’s Response to the Minister of Finance’s Letter to the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg (23 April 2026)

IMATU notes with concern the content of the Minister’s letter regarding the City of Johannesburg’s 2025/2026 Adjustment Budget.

The letter refers to, amongst other, the City’s alleged non-compliance with the requirements of the Municipal Shared Chart of Accounts (mSCOA), its failure to prevent and address unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and the failure to pay creditors within the prescribed 30-day period.

IMATU records its concern regarding the salary adjustments referenced in the letter. The Minister and National Treasury are requested to take cognisance that these adjustments were agreed to following extensive consultative processes with organised labour and were necessitated by the City of Johannesburg’s longstanding failure to address salary disparities, resulting to the conclusion of a binding Collective Agreement.

The agreement was further processed through the City of Johannesburg’s internal governance processes and was tabled before Council for approval on 20 March 2026.

In IMATU’s view, a directive to halt or reverse the implementation of the salary adjustments would constitute an undue interference in the collective-bargaining process and would adversely affect workers’ rights.

Furthermore, the legality of the Collective Agreement is a matter to be determined by a competent court of law.

Any attempt to halt and/or reverse the salary adjustments may result in labour instability, as workers and the unions may be compelled to pursue appropriate remedies legally permissible to protect their rights and interests.

IMATU therefore calls on the Minister to engage with the City of Johannesburg on the concerns raised in the letter, in a manner that respects workers’ rights and upholds the integrity of the collective-bargaining processes.