National Treasury faces backlash over R1 million arbitration award challenge

The National Treasury has decided to challenge a bargaining council award ordering the department to pay a former top official it demoted over R1 million.

Acting Chief People Officer Sekgoilane Kgoputso told Director: Public Works Timothy Murwa that the National Treasury intended to review the arbitration award at the Labour Court.

“… As such will not be implementing the arbitration award. In this regard, please note that you will be served with the relevant court papers and security guarantee within the timeframe prescribed for in terms of Section 145 of the Labour Relations Act,” Kgoputso stated earlier this week.

In response, Murwa accused Treasury of mismanaging and wasting public funds in legal fees and damages paying compensation.

“The National Treasury management and executive is arrogant and determined to waste even more public funds in legal fees and damages,” he said.

Murwa said Treasury has lost cases in which it was legally represented but still lost them and still wants to waste more public funds.

He said the Treasury paid for an unfair labour practice relating to his demotion arbitration award of R257,000 in 2023. Murwa said he even reported the matter to the Office of the Public Protector.

“(The) second unfair labour practice unfair relating to demotion arbitration award 2025 ordered the National Treasury to pay me R1m in compensation. The National Treasury was not moved by the 2023 public funds wasted and continued to subject me to unfair labour practice demotion and now punished with arbitration award compensation amounting to R1 million,” Murwa stated.

He said the National Treasury letter written by Kgoputso indicated that they will be reviewing the arbitration demotion award, which means the department intends to waste more public funds and even pay him double the arbitration award amount of R1m.

“There are no grounds for review in the Labour Court of the arbitration award of 2025. The National Treasury did not oppose my version before the bargaining council.

“The National Treasury is a repeat offender and, therefore, the National Treasury will be wasting public funds in fees and paying me double the arbitration compensation of R2m plus legal fees,” he insisted.

Murwa continued: “The arbitration award indicated that from 15 December 2025, the amounts will start accumulating interest of 10%, but that did not move the incompetent and corrupt mind of the National Treasury executive(s).”

He said this year, the National Treasury made a settlement agreement amounting to R1.3m for summarily terminating his employment contract in 2024.

“I was never subjected to a disciplinary process but my employment contract was illegally terminated,” he stated.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za