State careers in South Africa have a reputation for being extremely contrasting – where nurses, teachers and policemen are paid paltry salaries, and councillors, mayors and ministers are paid very well.<\/p>\n
The truth is that state employees are made up of hundreds of different career paths, including administrators, lawyers, healthcare practicioners and construction workers – all on the government’s payroll.<\/p>\n
This is why civil servant salaries are one of the biggest expenses by government, totalling close to R470 billion a year,<\/a> accounting for over a third of government spending.<\/p>\n According to economists, South Africa’s massive civil service workforce is one of the biggest issues constraining the economy, with recommendations to scale it down, and make it more efficient.<\/p>\n In 2015, unions representing civil servants negotiated a wage deal that would see teachers, nurses and other state workers receive a 7% salary increase for the year, with a 1% increase above consumer inflation for the next two years.<\/p>\n The agreement lead to a R12.5 billion shortfall in the budget in 2015, which had to be partly financed from the country’s R5 billion contingency funds.<\/p>\n According to AfricaCheck, there are over 2.1 million people working for government or government institutions in South Africa – including over 450,000 national government employees, 1.1 million provincial government employees and 550,000 other state employees.<\/p>\n Here is what the salaries look like for some civil servants.<\/p>\n Note:<\/strong> the salaries listed below are rounded off for legibility and represent the lastest-available information, not taking the aforementioned increases into account. Salaries vary depending on position, grade and salary level.<\/em><\/p>\n Heathcare<\/strong><\/p>\n Healthcare practicioners working at state hospitals and clinics have salary scales that range from R95,000 for nursing assistants to R1.82 million for department heads.<\/p>\n * community service<\/small><\/p>\n Teachers and community workers<\/strong><\/p>\n Teacher salaries are determined by years of experience, as well as grade and level teaching.<\/p>\n Policing<\/strong><\/p>\n Police salaries are determined by years of experience across different wage bands.<\/p>\n Legal<\/strong><\/p>\n Government<\/strong><\/p>\n Government officials are some of the highest-paid people on the state’s payroll. President Jacob Zuma and other heads are in for another 5% salary increase in 2016<\/p>\n Other state salaries<\/strong><\/p>\n Here are a few salary ranges for state employees in different fields:<\/p>\n SA smacked with R61 billion government wage bill<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n This is how much of your money the government is wasting<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Does Zuma deserve his R2.75 million salary?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n
\n Job<\/th>\n Salary<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Nurses<\/td>\n R150,000 – R350,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Medical Officers<\/td>\n R480,000* – R990,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Medical Specialists<\/td>\n R1.33 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Dentists<\/td>\n R480,000* – R1.9 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Job<\/th>\n Salary<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Teachers (general)<\/td>\n R60,000 – R280,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n High school teachers<\/td>\n R153,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Prison educators<\/td>\n R90,400 – R420,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Social workers<\/td>\n R105,000 – R650,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Job<\/th>\n Salary<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Recruits<\/td>\n R54,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Officers<\/td>\n R105,000 – R156,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Sergeants<\/td>\n R128,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Lieutenants<\/td>\n R200,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Majors<\/td>\n R250,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Colonels<\/td>\n R450,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Job<\/th>\n Salary<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Chief justice<\/td>\n R2.6 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Constitutional \/ Supreme Court judges<\/td>\n R2.1 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n High Court judges<\/td>\n R1.7 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Litigation specialists<\/td>\n R1.4 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Senior state law advisors<\/td>\n R1.1 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Magistrates<\/td>\n R744,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Job<\/th>\n Salary<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n President<\/td>\n R2.75 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Deputy president<\/td>\n R2.6 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Ministers<\/td>\n R2.2 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Premiers<\/td>\n R2.1 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Deputy ministers<\/td>\n R1.8 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Mayors<\/td>\n R1.1 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Municipal councillors<\/td>\n R450,000 – R830,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Job<\/th>\n Salary<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Garbage collectors<\/td>\n R72,000 (minimum wage)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Artisans<\/td>\n R94,400 – R450,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Environmental officers<\/td>\n R195,000 – R400,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Architects<\/td>\n R230,000 – R670,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Engineers<\/td>\n R445,000 – R1.6 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Construction Managers<\/td>\n R445,000 R1.4 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Scientists<\/td>\n R385,000 – R1.3 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n More on government<\/h3>\n