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The Star reports that health-care workers in the public sector in the front line of the coronavirus battle are beginning to down tools. This as the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) instituted legal action against Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize.
The case was scheduled to be heard in the Labour Court on Tuesday. The union has accused health departments across all provinces of forcing health-care employees to work during the Covid-19 pandemic without personal protective equipment (PPE) and thereby endangering their lives. On Monday, health-care workers at Dora Nginza Hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay downed tools over the lack of PPE. The metro is the hardest hit in the province by the virus, and the hospital has seen one of its doctors infected. In court papers, Nehawu’s general secretary Zola Saphetha said the union had observed front-line workers operating under circumstances that exposed them to the disease without the necessary protective gear, which included gloves, face masks, face shields, gowns, aprons, hair covers, respiratory protection and goggles, among other items. The union has asked the court to direct the national health department not to compel front-line health-care workers to render services without the required PPE, and not to subject the workers to disciplinary action for refusal to carry out their functions in the absence of PPE.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siviwe Feketha on page 2 of The Star of 7 April 2020
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