The Phoenix Community Health Clinic, better known as the Unit 10 Clinic, came to a standstill, on Thursday, when some patients were turned away and denied treatment due to staff members downing tools while on strike, demanding a no-less than 10% wage increase.
Spearheaded by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), several clinic and hospitals were disrupted as the strike continued for several days with the union and members vowing to intensify the ‘illegal’ protest until their demands are met.
On Monday morning, there was still a visible police presence at the Unit 10 Clinic, even though there was no disruption by health workers. The union is demanding a 10% wage hike, however the government has only offered to increase salaries by 4.7%.
A health worker who did not want to be named said: “We have embarked on this protest action to demand a better wage from our government. It has been many years since we last got a pay increase an it is really unacceptable. As health workers we are on the front lines working hard to serve our underprivileged communities even though we face problems like shortage of staff. Exacerbating our problems are load shedding and water issues, the patients are affected badly with this as well but it leaves us with backlogs and so much more problems when they become angry with us. The cost of living has drastically increased, how are we expected to work properly when we are suffering ourselves. We demand that the government increase our wages.”
Speaking to the Phoenix Tabloid Nehawu’s KZN provincial deputy secretary Ntokozo Nxumalo said: “From Monday morning, the 6 March, the national union embarked on an industrial action as a result of the collapsed wage negotiations, continuous implementation of austerity measures and the aggressive attack on collective bargaining by the government. In the main, this was in response to the employer’s unilateral implementation of 3% wage increase for the 2022/23 financial year in the middle of an unresolved dispute and the defence of collective bargaining. This collapse has really brought new escalation of miseries, pains and suffocations that threatens their historic gains and meagre livelihood to public service workers and their families.”
He said: “In the middle of the current dispute of the 2022/23 financial year, the employer opportunistically embarked on the 2023/24 public service wage negotiations – wherein they are effectively offering public servants an insulting 0.5% salary increment. They even have the audacity to mislead and confuse workers and public by stating that their offer is 4.7%, whereas they just converted the cash-gratuity that workers have been receiving into the baseline. With this arrogance displayed by government, it is important to confirm that NEHAWU continues with the strike in a more intensified manner as from Monday, 13 March 2023 to demonstrate to government the seriousness with which we take the concerted effort to underplay the role and significance of public servants who are at the coalface of service delivery.”
“We have a duty to protect and defend collective bargaining and the rights of workers in the face of the employer’s drive to degrade and break it down. Section 23 of the Constitution on the right to strike is sacrosanct for us. Indeed, this government continues to show us the middle finger and display high level of arrogance as it totally disregarding workers plight even with this ongoing facilitation process at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council, hence the strike continues until the government accede to our demands. It’s Aluta Continua! Workers have endured,” added Nxumalo.
A Whetstone resident, Gona Govender who was at the clinic when the workers began to strike said: “I arrived at the Unit 10 clinic early on Thursday morning as it was my date for check up. After waiting long in the queue, we were finally let inside the clinic. The workers were on a go slow as usual, many people’s charts had been misplaced including mines so we had to wait even longer while they tried to find our charts. I waited throughout the day and around lunch time, a large number of staff went on strike, refusing to see to any of the patients. I ended up returning home without my treatment as the clinic was chaotic and none of the nurses paid any attention or cared about the backlog of patients that were there from previous day. We depend on the medical services from the local clinic and hospital. What if a senior citizen gets critically ill and they (nurses) refuse to help? Lives could be lost due to these strikes. I understand that they need an increase but our lives matter too.”
“Today (Monday), I returned to the clinic hoping to get my check up and treatment sorted out. When I got to the clinic, we were allowed inside but we were told that we could not be helped even with the few nurses that were available. There were many elderly and disabled patients still roaming around hoping to be attended to. Once again, I have to go home spending all my taxi fare in vain,” added Govender.
MPL Bradley Singh said the Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal has written to the provincial Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane, urging her to lay criminal charges against Nehawu officials within 72 hours. “The residents of Phoenix and surrounding areas have been inconvenienced due to the strike. Appointments and procedures, which residents have had to wait for months, have been cancelled and are now further delayed. The harassment of staff who want to work is totally unacceptable. The MEC owes it to KZN’s citizens to send a clear message that anarchy and vandalism will not be tolerated. This provincial government will act when lives and essential services are placed at risk,” said MPL Singh.
Agiza Hlongwane of the KZN Department of Health said: “As the strike enters its fourth day, the department has noted a high rate of staff absenteeism, intimidation of workers, as well as difficulties of access into healthcare facilities, especially at eThekwini, uMgungundlovu and Ilembe Districts, which have been blockaded by the protesters. All of this has had a dire impact in various critical areas in the public health value chain, such as hospital intensive care and high care units, emergency medical services, obstetric (maternity) wards, accidents and emergency units, orthopaedic wards, casualty, laboratory services, as well as medico-legal mortuaries. Elective surgery appointments have also had to be postponed.”
He said senior management of the Department have been closely monitoring and evaluating the situation, and meeting at least twice a day, in order to ensure the most effective and adequate response to developments. “Numerous healthcare facilities have been affected in various ways, but those that have borne the most brunt of the strike are those in the aforementioned districts. The Department has had to implement a contingency plan which entails, among others, the rationing of resources where possible, beefing up of security, as well as alternative means of food supply. Furthermore, the Department remains extremely concerned that healthcare professionals, with sworn allegiance to professional oaths, are intimidating their own colleagues and preventing the public from accessing healthcare, which is an inalienable human right,” said Hlongwane.
He added that the department is trying everything within its power to mitigate the impact of the strike. “This includes the expeditious completion of post-mortems. While the department continues to monitor the situation closely, we nevertheless wish to appeal to the public to be patient and co-operative, especially where post-mortems may not be completed on time,” he said.
Phoenix SAPS communications officer, Captain Louise Naidoo said: “Members of Nehawu arrived at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital on Friday, 10 March and began to engage in a protest outside the premises, setting tyres alight. The fire department was contacted to extinguish the flames and cleared off the debris. It was noted that the road was damaged due to the heat from the burning tyres. A case of damage to property has been opened against the suspects.”
Meanwhile, Nehawu has vowed to continue with their strike action until their demands have been met.
