A collective monologue?

South Africa’s new democratic government inherited a public service based on apartheid racial structures, coupled with a rule-based and hierarchical work organization. Its initial attempts at transformation reflected the lack of a clear and deliberate strategy for public pay and public service transformation. Broad agreement was reached between trade unions and government on public pay reform. This gave rise to the Three Year Agreement. In practice, the Agreement did not last more than a year. A rupture occurred in the 1999-2000 bargaining season, when the Minister responsible for the Public Service and Administration unilaterally implemented the wage offer. The article analyses the experiences in public pay reform since 1994 and the lessons they provide. Bibliogr., sum. (p. 7).