By Eleanor Momberg
The occupation specific dispensation (OSD) for public servants will be implemented by June 30.
Stakeholders agreed upon implementation and time frames for the OSD last week.
The OSD deal, struck in 2007 after a long strike by public servants, will result in skilled public servants such as doctors, nurses, prosecutors and teachers receiving salary package increases of up to 50 percent to bring pay in line with that in the private sector.
Unions said the move to have the OSD implemented before the start of the public service wage negotiations for the 2009/10 financial year was a sign of political will to honour the 2007 agreement.
The OSD should have taken effect in July last year.
Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi, representatives of National Treasury, the attorney-general's office and the departments that would have to implement the deal met unions affiliated to Cosatu and the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa), as well as the Independent Labour Caucus on Thursday to find a solution to the problem that had seen doctors strike in centres across the country in recent weeks and military health personnel threaten to take to the streets.
Fedusa said the government's neglect in implementing the OSD for public servants - who had been "let down by the government" - had caused low morale and high stress levels.
Fedusa deputy general secretary Gretchen Humphries said all state entities agreed that the OSD needed to be implemented.
"They have to ensure that they have the money to do this. It has to happen soon because there is a serious problem with skilled people leaving (the public sector)," she added.
Before all deals were implemented, several matters affecting the introduction of pay progression needed to be ironed out, Humphries said.
Manie de Clerq, of the Public Servants Association, said the implementation of the OSD by June 30 was confirmed at the meeting on Thursday.
Negotiators had agreed to the "programme of implementation to complete the process" on Friday.
"The government has not pleaded poverty. They do have the money to implement this. There is a political will to implement it," said De Clerq.
When the OSD deal was signed two years ago, the Department of Public Service and Administration had said implementation of pay progression would cost R171-billion.