Disgruntled workers at KwaZulu-Natal government mortuaries are demanding changes in the functioning of some provincial morgues, accusing the Department of Health of not meeting its end of the bargain.
This is according to the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) Harry Gwala’ secretary Mazwi Ngubane, who bemoaned the state of government mortuaries, reports TimesLIVE.
He said the Fort Napier mortuary was in an abysmal state. The Phoenix mortuary has also been criticised for its shoddy state. This became evident during last year’s July unrest and in April when the facilities were overrun with bodies.
On Monday, a group of workers picketed outside the provincial Health Department offices in Natalia.
In their memorandum, they called for the filling of vacant positions, which they said was hampering service delivery. They also complained about pay disparities.
“We are concerned about pay disparities This is something we deem to be grossly unfair,” said Ngubane.
He said in 2012, when the department took over the workforce from the police forensics department, the organisational structure was not reviewed. He said this has given rise to salary disparities within the forensics pathology services.
Ngubane said the department should also revisit its decision to ditch workers who had been employed to circumvent the effects of COVID-19.
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