Routes leading to Durban’s Lenmed eThekwini Hospital and Heart Centre are expected to be the scene of protests on 18 July when the Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa (Hospersa) launches a protest.
The union has announced it will disrupt all normal services on routes leading to the institution, reports News24, in retaliation for the private healthcare facility's apparent refusal to grant organisational rights to Hospersa.
“Hospersa has been engaged in a protracted legal battle with (the hospital) over organisational rights since 2019,” union spokesperson Kevin Halama said in a statement.
The hospital has said the union does not meet requirements for granting organisational rights, but Hospersa argues that it has sufficient representation of close to 150 members at the institution, which has 500 to 600 employees.
“The CCMA and the Labour Court ruled in Hospersa’s favour, yet Lenmed still refuses to allow the union access to the workplace to service its members as per section 12 of the Labour Relations Act,” said Halama.
On 8 July, Labour Court Judge I Lawrence dismissed the hospital's application to review and set aside the 2019 findings of the CCMA, which granted Hospersa access to the workplace.
Days after the CCMA ruling, the hospital launched its review proceedings, contending that the award was not a reasonable and objective decision.
Lenmed spokesperson Michelle Naidoo said the hospital, which is in Riverhorse Valley, had not received any formal notification of Hospersa's intended action. "The hospital is currently in the process of addressing the matter through the labour legislation framework; we await the outcome to direct further engagement," she said.
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