The South African Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu) is considering legal action to interdict the Gauteng Department of Health's (GDoH) proposed cut in doctors’ overtime, and has urged its members not to sign the newly-imposed commuted overtime contracts.
The union's call was supported by the DA in the province, which said slashing overtime would be disastrous as hospitals were already chronically understaffed.
But the GDoH this week moved to allay fears, saying the reactions to the proposals had caused unnecessary anxiety and adding that its intention was not to reduce staff but to ensure better deployment and work/life balance.
The union, which has also called on those who have already signed to formally reverse their agreements, said it was considering legal action and has not ruled out the possibility of striking should its objections not be heard.
The union participated in a meeting last Friday convened by Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, University of Pretoria, University of the Witwatersrand, the College of Medicines of South Africa, and the Health Professions Council of South Africa to discuss the unilateral decision to downgrade the commuted overtime of doctors from Group D to C. The meeting “unequivocally rejected” the decision, Samatu said.
Key resolutions from the meeting included the formation of a task team to develop a consolidated plan of action, said Samatu in a statement, adding that is was essential that modifications of terms of employment follow a collaborative, systematic, and transparent approach.
The stakeholders are considering legal avenues to interdict the GDoH from implementing the changes until an equitable and consultative procedure is enacted. Depending on the proceedings, “a collaborative protest remains a plausible recourse to assertively communicate dissent”, said the statement, calling on all doctors to “stand in solidarity in fighting this unfair reduction of their salaries”.
“In cases where members are pressured to sign the new commuted overtime contracts, we encourage them to contact our offices.”
Endangering lives
The DA, in supporting the union, pointed out that the lives of patients would be endangered if junior doctors were not properly supervised after hours, and that it was also unfair to unilaterally change the contracts of doctors who rely on overtime to pay their bills, said MEC Jack Bloom in a statement.
“One doctor I spoke to said her take-home pay will be cut by one-third if she is not allowed to work her full 60 hours a month overtime.”
He wrote that the department ”is squeezed at the start of the new financial year this month because it must pay more than R5bn arrears from the previous year’s Budget”, and that staff and patients “should not be victims of the chronic mismanagement, which leads to cruel service cuts in hospitals, including a freeze on staff and new equipment”.
Obfuscation
However, the department said “confusion” had led to “unnecessary anxiety” among health workers and key stakeholders.
It issued a circular on Monday in response to what it called “misinformation and misinterpretations” and reiterated that Option D of the Commuted Overtime framework would remain fully in effect from 1 April to 30 June 2025, and would be “strictly in line with the relevant prescriptions and guidelines”.
“This reaffirmation is intended to restore calm and provide certainty, while also allowing …for a structured, inclusive engagement process to address operational challenges,” the statement read.
Option D is one of several models that allow for flexible overtime arrangements, reports The Citizen. These support hospital staffing while maintaining compliance with labour laws and equitable compensation, according to the circular.
“The objective … is not to reduce the workforce but to ensure better deployment and work-life balance,” the department said.
DA article – Gauteng hospital will suffer from cut in doctors’ overtime (Open access)
The Citizen article – Will the new overtime policy affect health workers? (Open access)
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