Cosatu unions give GEMS a deadline to reverse the hike

A 9.8% medical scheme hike stacked on top of last year's 13.4% increase has public sector unions giving GEMS exactly seven days to back down or face mass action.

COSATU unions slam the contribution spike

• Seven COSATU-affiliated unions rejected the 2026 GEMS contribution increase as unilateral and unaffordable.
• GEMS bumped contributions by 9.8% from January, with a slight trim to 9.5% kicking in from April.
• Combined with 2025's 13.4% hike, members are staring at a 23.3% two-year increase.
• The Council for Medical Schemes had recommended a far more modest 3.3% average.

Salary growth is nowhere close to keeping up

• Government workers only scored a 5.5% pay adjustment for the 2025/26 financial year.
• The employer subsidy bumped just 4.5% for three months before cratering to 0.5% from April.
• Current inflation sits around 3.6%, and GEMS blew past that by 6.5 percentage points.
• Workers are literally choosing between groceries and school fees because of the gap.

Seven unions are moving as a united front

• DENOSA, NEHAWU, SADTU, POPCRU, SAMATU, PAWUSA, and SAEPU all joined the fight.
• COSATU President Zingiswa Losi called GEMS one of the most expensive scheme options available.
• Pickets already went down in Durban and Pretoria this week.
• A national day of action is on deck if the seven-day deadline passes without a reversal.

Demands go way beyond just rolling back the hike

• Unions want a full forensic audit of GEMS governance and procurement.
• Greater freedom for public servants to pick any medical scheme is on the table.
• Some groups are demanding that the entire GEMS board and management resign.
• Members are openly considering dropping coverage entirely, which is a dire sign.