PHUTI MOSOMANE
THE Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Health, Dr Kenneth Jacobs, has called on Government and labour unions to urgently find solutions to the wage disputes that has so far led to the violence and claimed at least four lives.
Jacobs said the strike denies South Africans their constitutional right to genuine healthcare services, as patients are unable to access surgeries and dispensaries, among other things.
Furthermore, patients who are desperately sick and those referred to hospitals by clinics have challenges receiving healthcare services, due to the ongoing disruptive strikes.
“The parties involved in the wage impasse need to find an amicable arrangement so that healthcare workers can go back to work. We urge the parties, NEHAWU and the employer, to find immediate solutions to the dispute,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs said while Parliament understands the right of employees in the public sector to affiliate themselves with trade unions and to strike in accordance with the labour relations laws of the country, it is important to note that healthcare is an essential service and patients should not be deprived of access to healthcare.
Personnel participating in the strike should not intimidate healthcare workers through violent behaviour or forcibly remove staff from their workstations, added Jacobs.
Jacobs praised healthcare workers, including interns, doctors and specialists, who are currently working in areas of the value-chain to ensure that patients are taken care of so that the system does not collapse.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said while the issues raised by workers were legitimate, protests must not endanger people’s lives.
“If you embark on a protest, workers must protest very peacefully, and we will not allow the lives of our people to be put in danger,” said Ramaphosa.
INSIDE POLITICS