How much doctors, engineers, lawyers and scientists get paid in South Africa

The Public Servants Collective Bargaining Council (PSCBC) has published its latest salary scales for members who work in the health, engineering and other associated fields in South Africa – showing how much they will be earning in 2018.

The document has been published after a protracted negotiation period with the government, where the wage increases for the next three years needed to be ironed out, amid many economic and financial constraints being felt by National Treasury.

Most notably, government had to find an agreeable level at which to hike salaries for public servants, while facing demands to cut the government wage bill, which accounts for the biggest slice of the national budget.

What the PSCBC and government finally agreed to was a salary increase of between 7% and 6% (depending on level) for 2018, with a 2019 and 2020 salary increase up to projected CPI+1%.

While these salary increases apply to the majority of public servants, there are a few groups that are exempt – this includes senior management (pay levels above 13), the South African Police Service, and those in the National Prosecuting Authority.

All other public servants employed in terms of the Public Service Act, which do not have an occupation-specific dispensation, are also covered under a general package.

For these employees, their salary for 2018 will range from R89,631 (level 1) to R523,818 (level) 10 for lower pay levels, to between R697,011 (level 11) and R973,047 (level 12) for the higher levels covered by the agreements.

The tables below outline the salary ranges (level 1 to level 12) for highlighted occupations in the nursing, legal, engineering, social services and medical fields in South Africa.

Nursing

Legal

Engineering

Social Services

Medical

This is what contracted professionals can charge per hour:

Per hour

Read: South Africa’s average salary versus the world