A public sector union says an increase in the subsidy for medical scheme contributions is cold comfort for its members amid a battle between the government and public servants over salary increases.       

The department of public service & administration announced on Thursday that public servants would be awarded an 8.51% increase for a subsidy towards their medical scheme contributions, effective from January 1. This adjustment, which is in line with the medical price index, applies to employees on the Government Employees Medical Scheme (Gems) as well as all former employees belonging to a registered medical scheme.

The National Treasury had not responded to a request for comment about how much the increase would cost the state. But it has previously said the salaries of public servants had grown about 40% in real terms over the past decade. 

“It’s not a victory in a sense because members will still pay more [towards medical aid contributions],” Reuben Maleka of the Public Servants Association (PSA) said on Thursday.

The PSA represents more than 235,000 public servants of about 1.3-million in SA.

Maleka said the union had called for Gems to freeze premium increases.

“We expected Gems to freeze the member increase that was implemented in January.

“We had no salary increase … Gems must freeze members’ increase until the salaries dispute is resolved,” he said.

Public sector unions have approached the Constitutional Court to challenge a labour court ruling over salary increases.

In December, the Labour Appeal Court ruled that the government does not have to pay increases to public sector workers, declaring the implementation of a disputed wage agreement to be unlawful.

Public sector trade unions were seeking to enforce the third leg of a three-year wage agreement that would have seen them get pay rises above inflation as measured by the consumer price index, as well as additional increments. In a counter-application, the Treasury effectively declared force majeure, saying it is unable to pay due to its financial circumstances.

The public servants salary bill is one of the biggest threats to SA’s finances, but unions have argued that the state’s salary bill is not bloated, claiming instead that the public sector has crippling staff shortages, especially in the health-care system.

The director-general of the department of public service & administration, Yoliswa Makhasi, said the increase in the medical aid subsidy will go a long way in cushioning the recent increase in medical aid contributions for both current and former public servants. 

Business Day