(Bloomberg) -- The leadership of South Africa’s ruling party called an emergency meeting to discuss the government’s plans to curb its wage bill -- a move that has angered its labor-union allies.

The National Treasury proposed in the budget on Wednesday that pay increases, benefits and promotions for the nation’s 1.3 million civil servants be limited, with a view to saving the state 160 billion rand ($10.4 billion) over the next three fiscal years. Unions rejected the move, saying workers shouldn’t be made to pay for the government’s failure to spur growth and contain its debt.

The African National Congress’s national working committee will convene on March 2 to discuss the matter, according to two senior party members who spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to comment. Leaders of the South African Congress of Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party, which form part of the country’s ruling coalition, will later join the talks, they said.

The plans to curb personnel costs came as a surprise to many within the ANC, who fear the move will cost the party support in next year’s municipal elections, the party members said.

ANC spokesman Pule Mabe confirmed the committee meeting, but declined to say what would be discussed.

Read more: Outraged Unions to Test Credibility of South African Debt Curbs

--With assistance from Mike Cohen.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Vecchiatto in Cape Town at pvecchiatto@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, ;Benjamin Harvey at bharvey11@bloomberg.net, Antony Sguazzin

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