THE SA Medical Association (SAMA) said on Saturday that wage freezes in the public sector will ease government’s financial burdens, particularly in the long-term, but must be done with more circumspection, than a blanket approach to halting salary increases across the broad spectrum of government employees.
During his budget speech on Wednesday, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said government would continue to pursue public service savings through headcount cuts, early retirement, attrition, pay freezes as well as doing away with non-critical posts and certain employee benefits.
SAMA said while the public sector wage bill must be reduced significantly, not increasing the salaries of publicly employed doctors and nurses could have major consequences for the government down the line.
“Healthcare workers in public service already face many challenges that range from a lack of basic equipment and resources to general safety and security at their places of work. Their workloads are also
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