By Anita Dangazele
- The Eastern Cape Department of Health called the strike illegal and brought in SAPS to clear entrances and restore services.
- Workers are angry that only those with matric qualify for permanent jobs while others are offered only a higher stipend.
Patients across parts of Buffalo City were left without care on Tuesday after protest action shut 10 health facilities in the area.
Community health workers and outreach team leaders were behind the strike, the Eastern Cape Department of Health said. The department called the protest illegal and said it blocked people from getting care.
The department called in the South African Police Service (SAPS) to help clear clinic entrances and restore services.
Spokesperson Camagwini Mavovana said: “We have formally engaged SAPS and processes are underway to ensure that access is restored and that services continue without further interruption.”
The 10 affected facilities were NU12 Clinic, Beacon Bay Clinic, Gonubie Clinic, Nontyatyambo Community Health Centre, Kwelera Clinic, Chrishani Clinic, Cambridge Clinic, Braelyn Extension Clinic, Zanempilo Clinic and Sinebhongo Clinic.
The dispute centres on a court order linked to the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu). Workers with matric are being permanently employed. Workers without matric get a higher stipend.
Some workers said they had been promised permanent jobs for their years of service but felt pushed aside by the matric rule.
The unrest spread to the Ndlambe area, including Port Alfred and Bathurst. Patients needing chronic medicine were sent to Port Alfred Hospital, where long queues formed.
Nehawu’s Thembile Mgwatyu said the union had given the department a memorandum but was still waiting for a response.
“When we felt the employer was not handling the issue well, especially with the implementation of the court order, we took the matter forward,” Mgwatyu said.
The department warned that workers who continued to strike would not be paid and could face disciplinary action. Residents were told to go to nearby clinics and hospitals where services were still running.
Pictured above: Nontyatyambo Community Health Centre in Mdantsane.
Image source: Supplied