Friday's planned nationwide strike by National Education, Health & Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) members was stopped after the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) obtained an interdict in the Labour Court, writes MedicalBrief. The order authorises the NHLS to seek SAPS and or Public Order Policing Unit intervention if Nehawu defies the order.
Around 5 000 workers had planned to down tools over a breakdown in salary negotiations; alleged failure by the NHLS to implement proficiency assessment results; the filling of vacant positions; and the provision of personal protective equipment. The government called the strike "irresponsible"
NHLS spokesperson Mzi Gcukumana yesterday said: ‘The Labour Court has ruled that the strike action planned by Nehawu at the NHLS is unlawful, not in compliance, and in breach of the relevant provisions of the Labour Relations Act.’
The order interdicted and restrained Nehawu from promoting or encouraging any strike action or any other conduct in pursuit of their demands pending the final determination of the dispute. ‘Should the first respondent (Nehawu) or the second to further respondents fail to comply with the terms of this order and any part thereof, the applicant shall be entitled to seek assistance from the SAPS and or Public Order Policing Unit,’ reads the order.
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) said that its protest action that started on Friday, 21 August, was about protecting its members from the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Eyewitness News. Nehawu said that its health workers were risking their lives daily adding that it had decided on the protest to highlight the failure by government to provide members with personal protective equipment (PPE).
Nehawu said that its over 235,000 members started picketing on Friday of last week. And on Friday (28 August), the union said that it would stay away from work at all public health facilities. This can no longer legally happen.
Mkhize has met with unions over PPE problems. He has once again emphasised that no health care worker should be put at risk of contracting COVID-19 while on duty because of inadequate training, protection and support, which includes the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE). Skills Portal reports that the Health Department met with unions on Saturday to discuss issues around the occupational safety of health care workers, as well as workplace infrastructure and remuneration.
Attending the meeting was with the Health Department’s senior national officials, provincial Members of the Executive (MECs) and their Heads of Department (HODs). Despite later claims that the Nehawu was not present at the meeting, the Health Department said unions were well represented by leadership from Nehawu, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa, National Union Of Public Service & Allied Workers, Public Servants Association of South Africa, South African Medical Association Trade Union and Health & Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa.
In a statement released after the meeting, the Health Department said that there is a clear understanding between government and unions that a zero-tolerance stance regarding the availability of PPE to all health care workers will be adopted. The department reiterated that SA currently has enough PPE stock but acknowledged that the problem lies around to the movement and distribution or redistribution of stock.
“Based on all the above, it should be clear to all that the primary protection of health workers is a matter on which we will all agree, with no exception. Our approach must, therefore, be to support the simple ethos: no PPE, no work.
“We believe that this should motivate management and labour to ensure there is not a situation where someone declines to work. It is unfair to put any worker in such an invidious position,” the department said.
While all parties noticed an improvement in the situation since the concerns around PPE were first brought to light, the Minister said that the availability of PPE needs to be jointly monitored daily at all facilities.
To gain a better understanding of the problem, the Minister tested several institutions where complaints have been made and began investigations to address the problem. Starting immediately, the department adopted the strict rule that only a report that has been verified by a functional Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) committee will be taken into account.
“As far as the national department is now concerned, any unattended problems will automatically mean that the OHS committee is non-existent or non-functional, and as such, there is non-compliance with legislation. This will invite decisive consequence management.
“To ensure that parties engage on the same basis, unions will have direct access to the information contained on the department’s web-based dashboard and digital stock visibility system,” said the department.
This will allow unions, along with management, to conduct daily audits to allow for the tracking of smaller details such as sizes available, quantity and evidence of quality assurance.
“This will be very important, as issues of monitoring PPE should best be managed on the ground. Similarly, issues of transportation and distribution of PPE should be managed by the same committees at facility and district level.”
The department also highlighted that there needs to be a common understanding of the use of PPE in various work settings.
The meeting recommended that the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 gather information from stakeholders and issue an advisory that can be acceptable to all parties and applied across all provinces; this will also allow revisions that need to be considered, based on feedback from health workers.
Measures to boost support for health care workers, who are in the frontline of this pandemic, need to be strengthened.
“It will be important to provide a service that encompasses pre-test counselling, post-test counselling, quarantine/isolation support and support for those who fall ill,” said the department.
The meeting agreed that PPE supplies must be consistent to address the concerns of the unions.
"It is our duty to honour their sacrifice by committing fully to the safety and well-being of our healthcare workers," Mkhize is quoted in a News24 report as saying. He reported that he had recently had “serious engagements” with a number of trade unions and indicated that he had said that if there was any health worker who raised a matter of safety, it must be taken seriously.
He went on to say: "The only way of knowing that the matter is resolved is when structures representing government and labour jointly verify the situation of healthcare worker safety and ensure satisfactory resolutions. We have adopted the slogan: 'No PPE, no work'."
While the number of cases might be declining, with some provinces past their first peak, the report says Mkhize urged health workers to keep vigilant. The Minister also advised that 1,677 new COVID-19 infections had brought South Africa’s case total to 611,450, and that 100 additional deaths had taken the death toll to 13,159. Recoveries were 516,494, representing a rate of 84%.
Mkhize is also considering a union proposal to incentivise the workers at the front line of the fight against COVID-19. Business Day quotes Zola Saphetha, Nehawu general secretary as saying they met with Mkhize and his team on 13 August, where it was agreed that the minister would take the issue of “risk allowance or motivational incentives” for front-line workers for consideration.
Nehawu, the country’s third-largest public sector union, has been demanding that front-line workers be paid a “danger allowance” for working in the front line. The report says
[link url="https://ewn.co.za/2020/08/20/nehawu-national-strike-is-about-protecting-workers-from-covid-19"]Full Eyewitness News report[/link]
[link url="https://www.skillsportal.co.za/content/promises-address-ppe-distribution-issues"]Full Skills Portal report[/link]
[link url="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/covid-19-27-000-health-workers-infected-mkhize-expresses-his-deep-appreciation-20200825"]Full News24 report[/link]
[link url="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/labour/2020-08-20-government-considers-risk-allowance-for-health-care-workers/"]Full Business Day report[/link]
[link url="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/health/2020-08-24-labour-court-declares-planned-strike-at-state-lab-unlawful/"]Full Business Day report[/link]
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