E Cape nurses 'shouldn't worry'

2008-01-07 19:15

Cape Town - Eastern Cape nurses have no reason for concern over their occupation-specific dispensation payments, the province's Health Department said on Monday.

Spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo was reacting to a weekend report that some East London nurses had threatened to strike over dissatisfaction with the way the payments were being dealt with.

The payments were announced last year by Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang in a bid to make public sector nursing a more attractive career option.

Backdated to July 1 last year, they involve hikes in starting levels of up to 22%, in addition to general salary increases.

Kupelo said that contrary to speculation, the provincial government did have enough money to make the payments in full.

So far the department had processed 5 400 payments in the East London area alone, a sizeable portion of the 12 000 nurses in the province.

"We are still processing," he said. "We think that we have achieved 80% of the 12 000 in terms of implementation."

The department was working against a deadline of the March 31 financial year-end, so nurses could get their payouts at any time until then.

Kupelo said he was not able to confirm claims from some nurses that they had received as little as R12, and said the department's human resources division did not think this likely.

However anyone who had problems should speak up.

He said the amounts of the payments would vary according to where an individual currently stood on a pay scale.

All nurses on a particular scale, regardless of experience, would go up to at least the new minimum level for that scale.

- SAPA