PICS & VIDEO: Patients left stranded as healthcare workers demand 10% salary increase
Durban — Patients and healthcare workers at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital were left stranded on Tuesday after National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) workers forbade anyone to get into the hospital following their national strike, demanding a 10% salary increase. The government has offered 3%.
Some patients were standing outside the hospital gate looking defeated while the Nehawu workers were singing Struggle songs. The patients said they had gotten to the hospital in the early hours of the morning but were not allowed to get in.
A 55-year-old community member, who refused to give her name, said she came to the hospital at 6am to collect her chronic medication.
“When I got here people were already standing outside the gate and did not allow us in,” she said.
Some patients were standing by the road while others sat down. Ntombifuthi Gwamanda, who was with her daughter who was wearing a school uniform, said her child had to see a doctor but, this was not possible due to the strike.
“We were told that there is a strike because the government does not want to pay the workers. We are in trouble because there are lives being lost in the hospital.
“What is the government saying about the people losing their lives? They must ensure that the workers are happy so that lives are not lost.”
A healthcare worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimised, said when she and her colleagues arrived at the hospital they could not get in.
“We drove in the morning as expected and there was traffic from Mega City. It took an hour for us to get to the gate and when we did we were told there is a strike,” she said.
She said as healthcare workers they were confused because they did not know what to do.
“We don’t know where to go from here. Do we wait and see if we can be able to get to the hospital or should we go home? However, we understand the importance of the strike and we share the same sentiments,” she said.
The Nehawu strike happened simultaneously at various hospitals across the country. Healthcare workers at Greys’ Hospital in Pietermaritzburg feared for their lives as the strike was violent. A worker, who did not want to be named, said they had no idea if they would have to sleep in the hospital or not.
“The workers who came in for day shift are unable to get in, we don’t know what will happen.”
Nehawu workers were also striking outside the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital, however, branch secretary Skhumbuzo Gumbi said theirs was peaceful as they understood the impact of shutting down a hospital.
“The hospital is functioning but we are singing here,” he said.
One of the songs they were singing, was: “We are not going to work for the whole month, we will see what the employer is going to do to us.”
The branch secretary at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital, Brian Ndlovu, said this was a national strike and it will continue until March 10 or stop if the employer answers their demands and revisit the 3% salary it has imposed.
Nehawu workers are striking outside the Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital. The workers say they are striking over salary negotiations for 2022/23. They want 10% salary increase and the employer has imposed 3% @DailyNewsSA pic.twitter.com/WqIcsIG2AZ
— MaZondi (@NkulieZondi) March 7, 2023
Nehawu secretary general Zola Saphetha said the workers have been on the receiving end of the onslaught by this 6th Administration in many ways, including poor working conditions despite the fact that public service workers contribute daily to the betterment of the people, especially the working class and the poor at the frontlines of service delivery.
“Improvements in our working conditions, including improvement in pay, are a necessary means of strengthening the public service,” said Saphetha.
The KZN Department of Health said it was experiencing ongoing disruptions to normal operations at some of its health facilities, mainly in the eThekwini, uThukela and uMgungundlovu districts, as a result of the strike.
Nehawu workers at Inkosi Albert Luthuli hospital in Durban say they didn’t shut down the hospital because they understand the impact it would have. They said this is a peaceful strike. @DailyNewsSA pic.twitter.com/mC2J83meSI
— MaZondi (@NkulieZondi) March 7, 2023
KZN Health HOD Dr Sandile Tshabalala said Emergency Medical Services in and around eThekwini, and at King Cetshwayo, have reported serious challenges with moving around and transporting patients to and from healthcare facilities.
“The department reminds all employees that, as healthcare professionals, they are classified as essential services. This means they are legally prohibited from embarking on industrial action. Contravention of this law could have dire circumstances for all individuals involved,” he said.
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