By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Department of Public Service and Administration has issued a directive of 4% cost-of-living salary adjustment for the 2026/2027 financial year, effective from 1 April 2026.
The increase applies to public servants on salary levels 1 to 12 and those under Occupation Specific Dispensations (OSDs).
This follows the multi-year wage agreement under Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council Resolution (PSCBC) Resolution 1 of 2025. Despite a projected CPI of 3.4%, the “floor” mechanism ensures a deemed increase of 4% to cushion the rising cost of living.
Pay progression for the 2025/26 performance cycle starts 1 July 2026.
Public Service and Administration Minister Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi said the decision reflected the government’s commitment to collective bargaining and protecting workers from rising living costs.
“The implementation of this 4% adjustment is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the stability of our public service and the sanctity of collective bargaining,” Buthelezi said.
“By honouring the floor mechanism within PSCBC Resolution 1 of 2025, we are ensuring that even when inflation projections sit at 3.4%, public servants on salary levels 1 to 12 receive a deemed increase that provides a meaningful cushion against the rising cost of living.”
He said the adjustment went beyond salary increases and formed part of a broader effort to strengthen the public service.
“This is not merely an administrative update; it is a deliberate act of support for the men and women who serve the citizens of South Africa every day,” Buthelezi said.
The directive confirms that the adjustment applies only to employees appointed under the Public Service Act of 1994. Several categories are excluded from the circular, with their adjustments to be handled separately.
These include senior management service employees on levels 13 to 16, as well as personnel in the South African Police Service, basic education, the South African National Defence Force, Correctional Services and the National Prosecuting Authority. The circular also outlines additional changes affecting the broader public service workforce.
The latest increase comes amid criticism that South Africa’s public workforce is bloated, overpaid, and frequently underperforming.
Political analyst Moeletsi Mbeki said that inflated salaries for public workers over the last 15 years have come alongside a collapse in public services.
He said that South Africa has been transferring money to public servants at the expense of investment into public infrastructure and upkeep, leading to a decline.
He added that South Africa has one of the highest-paid civil services as a percentage of GDP in the world, spending between 10% and 12% of its total economic output on the public sector wage bill over the past three financial years.