Durban - The National Education, Health And Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) said it was exploring legal options following yesterday’s Labour Court decision to uphold the court interdict by the Department of Public Service and Administration against its strike action. The Department of Health has welcomed the judgment and urged Nehawu members to return to work as sporadic protests took place in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday.
Nehawu secretary-general Zola Saphetha said that they had complied with the court judgment and informed their members of the decision.
“We will be meeting with our legal team to explore our legal recourse and to see if appealing the judgment is an option,” he said.
The Labour Court last week dismissed an appeal by Nehawu against an interdict preventing the strike, but the union ignored the court ruling. A second appeal was dismissed yesterday.
Yesterday there were reports of protests by Nehawu members outside a clinic in KwaDabeka, north-west of Durban. Entrances were blocked and rubbish was set alight.
In Gauteng, Health Minister Joe Phaahla did an oversight visit yesterday morning at Thelle Mogoerane Hospital in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, where members of the SANDF had been deployed. There was also high police visibility which ensured that non-striking workers and patients were safe.
In Cape Town, members affiliated with the union closed the Home Affairs office, the Labour Department offices, as well as disrupted services at the Western Cape Education Department head office.
Legal expert Mpumelelo Zikalala said that should Nehawu not comply with the judgment it would be in contempt of court. “If they were to continue, the police would be allowed to arrest them where they could face a prison sentence or a fine.
“The public can sue Nehawu if they feel that a patient’s death is a result of not receiving adequate care because of the illegal strike. They can also be sued for damage to infrastructure.”
The National Department of Health said that it was pleased with the Labour Court ruling.
Foster Mohale, the spokesperson for the National Health Department, said that the department would be assisting hospitals where there was a shortage of staff. “In provinces where there is a critical shortage of staff at health-care facilities, we will be moving staff to assist in the facilities to assist in ensuring that services run smoothly. We will not move staff from different provinces, only locally.”
Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) KZN provincial secretary Mbali Sabela said that the association was not part of the strike, but still supported Nehawu’s demands.
“We are an essential service and understand that we can’t strike, hence we have not participated. We are grateful that the KZN Department of Health has increased security and the situation is a lot calmer.”
Sabela said that their members were under pressure at health facilities.
“We are dealing with a large backlog of patients. We are hopeful that staff from Nehawu will be back at work following the Labour Court judgment.”
SANDF spokesperson Brigadier-General Andries Mokoena Mahapa said that army doctors had been called in to assist.
Police union, Police and Prisons’ Civil Rights Union provincial secretary Nthabeleng Molefe said that the union supported the demands of Nehawu but had not joined the strike.