An attempt by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) to have more than 47,000 community health workers (CHWs) employed permanently by government has been shot down.
GroundUp reports that the union believes the workers’ fixed-term contracts contravene the provisions of the Labour Relations Act. The Act states that contracts of more than three months cannot be rolled over unless the employer can justify this. “An employer may employ an employee on a fixed-term contract or successive fixed-term contracts for longer than three months only if the employer can demonstrate a justifiable reason for the longer-term.”
The union took the matter to the Public Health and Social Development Sectoral Bargaining Council.
In response, the Health Department and eight provincial health departments, excluding the Western Cape, argued that the health workers’ conditions are regulated by a collective agreement signed in 2018. This agreement binds the national and provincial health departments, trade unions and their members who fall within the scope of the council’s jurisdiction, and community health workers who are not members of unions but who fall within the scope of the council’s jurisdiction.
The workers are paid a stipend from the Conditional Grants budget, and the health departments also argue that because these funds are not guaranteed, the government cannot risk permanently employing the Community Health Workers.
On 27 October 2021, Advocate Ronnie Bracks, the arbitrator appointed by the Public Health and Social Development Sectoral Bargaining Council, issued an award in favour of the Department of Health and the provincial departments. He found that the workers were all regulated by the 2018 agreement and that this did not contravene the Act.
Nehawu told GroundUp that the union would continue fighting for the permanent employment of CHWs.
The Department of Health did not respond to questions.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Gauteng community healthcare workers strike over permanent jobs
Eastern Cape ends 5,000 community healthcare worker jobs
Services at Alexandra clinic severely disrupted