Teachers employed in the public service sector can look forward to receiving an additional three-percent salary increase over their annual pay hike from the end of April.
In Pretoria on Friday, the department of education and teacher unions settled their outstanding dispute over salary progression for teachers.
The agreement, facilitated by the Education Labour Relations Council, brought an end to a process that started in 1996, when pay progression for teachers first appeared on the public service wage negotiation agenda.
Unions, which in January threatened to strike if the matter was not resolved, welcomed the settlement, saying focus could now shift to tackling concerns about scarce skills and the very low morale in the profession.
A spokesperson for the Suid Afrikaanse Onderwys Unie, Kobus Pieterse, said the settlement brought recognition to teachers, who traditionally were under-paid.
"This agreement recognises the conditions under which teachers often have to work and is a just reward for their dedication and professionalism," said Pieterse.
Under the settlement, teachers who were in service during the period qualify for the three percent increase and cash bonuses will be paid to those who were promoted during or after the stipulated period.
Additional funds will be made available over and above the R500-million originally budgeted for the increases by the government last year.
A special task team has been established to monitor the implementation of the agreement to ensure that teachers receive their money as soon as possible.
The Acting Director-General of the department of education, Duncan Hindle, said the teachers affected could expect to be paid by the end of April.
"The payment process is a complex one. Individual teachers need to be accounted for and we expect to begin implementing the payments shortly," he said.
Hindle said teachers would receive a single lump sum, but added that there was no indication yet what the additional funds would total.
"This will be established once we have determined the number of teachers who qualify for the bonus payment," he said.
The agreement also makes provision for the developing of a proposal on the utilisation of additional funds over the next three years to improve productivity and performance in the education sector.
Dave Balt, of the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa, said the settlement was crucial to mapping the road ahead in terms of developments in the education sector.
"Future developments will take into account the spirit of the agreement to ensure positive change for all of our teachers," he said.
A new career-pathing system for teachers and the provision of human resource support to teachers would also fall within the scope of the agreement.
All parties concerned agreed that a proposal in this regard would be tabled by the end of July so that implementation could begin this financial year.
Bongani Mpungose of the National Teachers' Union said the unions and the government could now focus on improving the quality of public education.
"I am sure that all of the parties involved can now concentrate on making valuable contributions to improving our public education system," he said.