Cape Times reports that the Western Cape Department of Health has advised that 123 bodies at Salt River and Tygerberg await post-mortem examinations after forensic pathologists “downed tools” at the two mortuaries.  

Employees have gone on strike over wages and what they described as unfair working conditions and staff shortages.  National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) Western Cape secretary, Eric Kweleta, said:  “Within the pathology services, there is a staff shortage.  Because of this, they took people who were not qualified, who are general workers, to assist to perform the duties of forensic pathologists and post-mortems."  The strike follows a wave of strike action in the health sector nationally.  In Gauteng, some families had reportedly secured court orders to force post-mortems at state mortuaries so they could get bodies for burial as the strike by about 180 forensic assistants dragged on with no end in sight.  

• Read this report by Siyavuya Mzantsi in full at Cape Times
• Read too, Western Cape health department working to clear backlog caused by mortuary strike, at EWN

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