National Education Health and Allied Workers Union v Minister of Public Service and Administration and Others; South African Democratic Teachers Union and Others v Department of Public Service and Administration and Others; Public Servants Association and Others v Minister of Public Service and Administration and Others; National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers Union v Minister of Public Service and Administration and Others

The matter concerned four consolidated applications by public sector trade unions seeking to enforce clause 3.3 of a collective agreement concluded in 2018 under the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council. The agreement regulated salary adjustments for public servants for the financial years 2018/2019, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. Clause 3.3 provided for wage increases in 2020/2021 that would cause the State to exceed its budgetary allocation by billions of rand. The State implemented clauses 3.1 and 3.2 but refused to implement clause 3.3, contending that it was concluded without complying with regulations 78 and 79 of the Public Service Regulations and sections 213, 215 and 216 of the Constitution, because there was no Treasury approval or secured funding. The Labour Appeal Court, sitting as a court of first instance, declared clause 3.3 invalid and unenforceable. The unions sought leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court.

Leave to appeal was granted, but the appeal was dismissed. Clause 3.3 of the collective agreement was confirmed to be invalid and unenforceable. No order as to costs was made.

The judgment affirms the constitutional role of National Treasury as a fiscal guardrail and underscores that collective bargaining in the public service is subject to constitutional and regulatory budgetary constraints. It clarifies that Cabinet approval cannot override explicit statutory and constitutional requirements for Treasury approval and funding. The case is a leading authority on the limits of enforceability of public sector collective agreements and the primacy of fiscal legality over negotiated outcomes.