NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN REPLY
2635. Mr N J J van R Koornhof (Cope) to ask the Minister for the
Public Service and Administration:
Whether his department is constantly analysing the impact permitting
public sector remuneration to increase at a faster rate than that of
the private sector; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant
details? NW3086E
REPLY:
The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) regularly
conducts research into salaries and government spending on personnel in
attempts to manage the wage bill and to ensure that it provides competitive
salaries and benefits to the Public Service employees.
These includes :
⢠A comprehensive personnel expenditure reviews every 5 years and
⢠Annual salary comparison and benchmarking of public service employees
salaries with that of the private sector by using reputable salary
surveys.
The last personnel expenditure review (PER) was conducted in 2006, and
showed that the public service was well below the market average in a
number of categories. This informed a number of improvements in the
salaries and conditions of service for employees within the Public Service
since 2007 which include the implementation of occupational specific salary
dispensation, introduction of government employees medical scheme and
increase in the housing allowance.
There have been significant changes in the economic and labour market since
the last PER in 2006, including the global economic recession in 2009. The
DPSA therefore has commenced with the process to conduct another review of
personnel expenditure. This review will include an assessment of government
spending over the past five years, with specific focus on personnel
expenditure and employment trends. The outcome of the research will inform
the remuneration policy framework for the Public Service for the next 5
years