Dispensation for Nurses, Centurion
14 September 2007
It gives me great pleasure to be part of this occasion when we are
celebrating the signing of a collective agreement on the Occupational Specific
Dispensation (OSD) for Nurses.
The signing of this agreement today is a culmination of extensive engagement
that has taken place for more than five years. Over these years, we lobbied
various institutions within government to mobilise more resources for
improvement of working conditions for health workers. As a result of this
engagement, additional resources were allocated for improvement of salaries of
nurses.
As from July 10 this year, we engaged with our partners in the trade union
movement to ensure that these resources are utilised in the best possible
manner.
This was after the protracted month-long public sector strike relating to
wages that ended in June. You will recall that after the strike we met as the
Department of Health and organised labour and committed ourselves to earnestly
engage in a collective bargaining process to conclude an agreement on the OSD
for nurses.
At that stage, I indicated that R1,1 billion had been allocated to this task
and we made proposals to increase salaries of nurses by between 20 and 23
percent. Today, I can proudly declare that this allocation increased to R1,458
billion and it made it possible for us to improve even more from the very
drastic wage increase proposals we had put forward in July.
The extent of the improvement in the salaries of nurses in the various
categories is quite substantive generally, and everyone will benefit.
I am very excited to announce to our nurses that as a result of the
agreement we have signed today, the entry-level salaries for Staff Nurses will
increase by 20 percent. The entry-level salaries for Nursing Assistants and
Professional Nurses in general nursing will both increase by 24 percent.
Certain Professional Nurses serving in speciality areas could, subject to
the appointment requirements, receive up to 88 percent increases at production
levels depending on their current salary positions. This huge salary increase
is mainly as a result of the incorporation of the earlier scarce skills
allowance into salary. Further salary increases will also depend on the number
of years of relevant experience.
These salary adjustments are in addition to 7,5 percent agreement reached at
the end of the public service strike. They will be effected retrospectively
from 01 July 2007 and will be done over two phases â firstly minimum adjustment
in line with the OSD and secondly, re-calculation and progression based on
recognition of relevant experience.
I am glad that we have been able to deliver these benefits to our nurses who
are the bedrock of the public health sector. This category of health workers is
of strategic importance to us both in terms of their numbers â they are the
single largest professional group in the health sector - as well as in terms of
the role they play throughout the health care delivery system, ranging from
primary health care to specialised and secondary services.
We therefore believe that the agreement we have signed today will not only
improve the salaries of nurses, but it will also significantly contribute
towards the improvement of access to and quality of health care services, lift
the morale and improve performance of our health workers. It will also make the
public health sector more competitive and serve as an enabler for the
repatriation of our migrant health workers in countries abroad.
I hope the other health professionals will be patient with process as we
could not cover all of them at once and they should rest assured that the
Department of Health values their contribution to the delivery of health
service.
The OSD will be spread to all health professional categories over the next
two years. Next year it will be extended to doctors and medical specialists,
dentists and dental specialists, pharmacists and emergency care practitioners.
In the year 2009, all other health professionals in the public health sector
will be incorporated.
Programme Director, I would like to express my appreciation to the
leadership of organised labour for the spirit of partnership demonstrated
firstly through the post strike normalisation process as well as in the
bargaining process that led to the finalisation of the agreement we have signed
today. I hope we will continue to strengthen our collaboration which is crucial
in improving the quality of services we deliver to our people.
I must also acknowledge the collaboration amongst the government Departments
responsible for pulling together this agreement, particularly the National and
Provincial Health Departments, Department of Public Service Administration and
the National Treasury. The work has not been easy, but it has been well
executed.
I trust and hope that this agreement will serve to prove that our interest
as government is to improve the delivery of services, by ensuring that the
people who are at the coalface of delivery are well rewarded for the work that
they do.
Thank you
The OSD will affect the entry-level salaries of the various categories of
nurses as follows:
Current job title: Nursing assistant (auxiliary nurse)
Starting salary before 7,5 percent: R40 227
Adjustment starting salary after 7,5 percent: R43 245
Adjustment (PRE-OSD) OSD starting salary: R53 757
Percentage improvement: 24 percent
Current job title: Staff nurse
Starting salary before 7,5 percent: R54222
Adjustment starting salary after 7,5 percent: R58 290
Adjustment (PRE-OSD) OSD starting salary: R70 140
Percentage improvement: 20 percent
Current job title: Professional nurse
Starting salary before 7,5 percent: R79 407
Adjustment starting salary after 7,5 percent: R85 362
Adjustment (PRE-OSD) OSD starting salary: R106 086
Percentage improvement: 24 percent
Current job title: Professional nurse - speciality
Starting salary before 7,5 percent: R79 407
Adjustment starting salary after 7,5 percent: R85 362
Adjustment (PRE-OSD) OSD starting salary: R160 470
Percentage improvement: 88 percent
Issued by: Department of Health
14 September 2007
