The Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA) has called on the Mpumalanga Department of Health to escalate the reinstatement of hospital managers it said had been “illegally suspended”.
A report by the HOD on 21 December last year had said the suspended personnel were due back at work on 31 January 2024 because proper procedures were not followed: that the matter had been investigated, and the dismissals were not properly conducted.
It is alleged that most of the eight managers were shown the door after accusations of poor performance by some of the labour federations, who then pressured the Department to suspend them.
They have been receiving full salaries since then.
Previously, the department told The Citizen that by the end of August, all of the employees would be back at work, but this week, it was confirmed while some had been reinstated, most were still on suspension.
PSA provincial manager Flip van der Walt said the union was very concerned.
“The collective agreement stipulates that when an employee is suspended, they should appear before a disciplinary tribunal within 60 days. Only the tribunal chair may extend the suspension beyond the 60 days.
“The CEO and other managers were suspended and no actions taken by the employer, making the suspensions illegal. And in some cases, staff were suspended with no clear indication of the reason being communicated. The CEO of Rob Ferreira Hospital and another senior manager was suspended without a valid reason. We have taken the matter to arbitration and it was sorted.”
At Embhuleni Hospital in Elukwatini, he added, the corporate manager and food aid manager were still on suspension, even though an investigation by the employer recommended they should return to work.
He said when he asked why they were still not back at their desks, management said some union members did not want them back at the hospital, and the employer “cannot guarantee their safety while at work”.
The Citizen article – Call to reinstate all suspended Mpumalanga hospital bosses (Open access)
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