Is there really a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Has the Occupational Specific Dispensation, as a mechanism to attract and retain health workers in South Africa, leveled the playing field?

Table 4 HRH gross salaries by national currency unit, Rand-foreign currency market exchange rate and PPP (Rand-based) equivalent

	SA (Rand)^a		UK (£)	AUS ($)	CAN ($)	US ($)	Saudi Arabia (SR)
	Pre OSD	Post OSD^b
Registered Nurse	R105220¹	R160032¹	23019³	55354⁶	63004⁸	62000⁹	199176¹⁴
	($12416)^	($18884)	($34758) [R302700]^c	($41294) [R360908]	($53679) [R463079]	[R525140]	($53180) [R450138]
Market and (PPP)^e foreign exchange rates^d			13.15 (7.54)^e	6.52 (3.33)	7.35 (4.08)	8.47 (4.9)	2.26 (2.06)
PPP salary (Rand-based) ^d			R173528	R184513	R257266	R303800	R410068
			($20487)	($21784)	($30374)	($35868)	($48414)
Med Officer	R247512²	R423846²	38000⁴	98138⁷	121687¹⁰	181000¹³	295200¹⁴
Grade 2	($29206)	($50013)	($57380) [R638314]	($73211) [R639860]	($103677) [R1163387]	[R1533070]	($78818) [R667152
PPP salary (Rand-based)			R365925^c	R327127	R646326	R886900	R607764
			($43202)^f	($38622)	($76308)	($104711)	($71755)
Specialist	R461757²	R554109²	95748⁵	325000⁷	320116¹¹	321000¹³	440160¹⁴
Grade 2	($54487)	($65385)	($144580) [R1158551]	($242450) [R221975]	($272739) [R2304835]	[R2375400]	($117523) [R867115]
PPP salary (Rand-based)			R721793^c	R1083333	R1307140	R1572900	R906211
			($85218)	($127902)	($154326)	($185702)	($106991)

^ figures in parentheses show average 2009 US dollar equivalent [18].
¹[19]²[20]³[21]⁴[22] average of range. ⁵[23] average of range. ⁶[24]⁷[25] average of range ⁸[26]⁹[27]¹⁰[28]¹¹[29]¹²[30]¹³[31]¹⁴[32].
^a The SA data does not contain a rural allowance. Health workers operating in rural areas get an extra 18%.
^b The OSD increase for South African nurses came into effect on 1^st July 2008 and represents a 24% increase for the registered nurse [9].
^cRand equivalent of foreign salary in square parentheses (2009 monthly average market exchange rates[18]).
^dMarket exchange rates in this row are used for all Rand calculations.
^eAuthor calculations. Figures in parentheses show PPP exchange rates between Rand and foreign currency.
^fAuthor calculations. Figures in parentheses show US$ equivalent (using market rate) of PPP Rand-based salary.

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