#CosatuNationalStrike: ‘We want adequate protection’, says healthcare workers (VIDEO)
As of August, there were 240 healthcare workers who died from Covid-19 across the country.
DURBAN healthcare workers are demanding the government fulfill its promise of paying them a risk allowance and salary increases.
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This comes amidst a general strike by Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (Cosatu) that was held in Durban on Wednesday.
Zanele Gumede, Provincial Deputy Chairperson of Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) said it was time government repaid healthcare workers for their sacrifice in mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic.
ALSO READ: Cosatu strike could derail economic recovery, says Durban Chamber
“We want to see adequate protection of healthcare workers, more provisions for personal protective gear, a salary increase and a Covid-19 risk allowance that was promised to us but never paid,” said Gumede.
The ‘risk allowance’ comes from August when Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize met with trade unions to consider an incentive for healthcare workers. Berea Mail could not find any official correspondence from the government committing to any such incentive.
Healthcare workers are also claiming government went back on the salary and wage collective agreement that was agreed on in 2018 to increase the salaries of public servants every year for three years until 2021.
Jennifer Greeves, a nurse at Addington Hospital, said the increases have not kicked in for this financial year (which started on 1 July).
“Covid-19 is not a good enough excuse because there was a contract that was signed before it came,” she said.
“We, the frontline workers, did not even get PPE but we were there and never let our community down. We were there fighting, we lost a lot of nurses and nothing was done about it besides clapping hands. How is that helping me? Not good enough,” she added.
As of August, there were 240 healthcare workers who died from Covid-19 across the country.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
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