Johnathan Paoli
THE National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union Nehawu has defended, on Wednesday, a group of 45 Eastern Cape health workers, who earned a staggering R67-million in salaries in the past two years while remaining at home.
They allegedly refused to work at other government hospitals after the provincial health department closed the Orsmond TB Hospital in 2021 because of dwindling patient admissions.
The allegations surfaced following questions at the legislature by the DA Eastern Campe MPL Jane Cowley who slammed the department and accused it of failing to act against the employees while the union was defending them.
Nehawu provincial secretary Mlu Ncapayi said the union obtained an interdict to prevent the department from applying a no-work-no-pay rule and deducting money from salaries.
Ncapayi went on to point out that the department decided to transfer the workers without any consultations with unions and employees.
“They [the Eastern Cape health department] should have started the consultation process with labour unions and the hospital board. This never happened; instead, our members were told to report elsewhere across the Nelson Mandela region.”, he said.
Ncapayi claimed in some cases, employees, who were for instance managers at the hospital, would lose their job titles if they agreed to be transferred to hospitals where senior positions were already filled.
“Our members are protected by the law to be consulted before changing their conditions of service.”
The union added the department was working with Nehawu and other unions to resolve the matter.
“Our firm view is that all this is created by the poor leadership of the senior managers of the Eastern Cape health department. We have been complaining for some time that the senior managers at the helm of the department have no capacity to lead such a complex organisation,” Ncapayi concluded.
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