SAMATU calls for equality between urban & rural medical professionals

The South African Medical Association Trade Union (SAMATU) says the inequality between medical professionals in urban and rural healthcare facilities needs to be addressed.

The union was speaking ahead of the 2026 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) that will be tabled by the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana this Wednesday.

SAMATU says the rural allowance paid to medical professionals in addition to their basic salaries has been effective as a short-term recruitment tool but is failing as a long-term retention strategy .

The union’s General Secretary, Dr Cedric Sihlangu, says financial incentives attract junior doctors to fill vacancies in rural areas, but the impact has been eroded by inflation.

“Money is simply not enough to compete with severe workplace burnout and lack of career progression faced by doctors who work in rural areas.

The majority of the South African population is in rural communities.

However, much focus has been directed towards healthcare facilities in urban areas.” “Doctors are constantly battling unreliable water and electricity supply and chronic stock shortages of essential medicine and equipment.

We cannot expect medical professionals to stay in environments which are not conducive for them to provide basic, dignified and safe patient care.

The notion that doctors simply refuse to work in rural areas is not true,” adds Sihlangu.

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