COVID 19 Supporting staff whose contracts expired on 31 March 2023 pickets outside the Gauteng Premier's office at Newtown in Johannesburg, 10 May 2023. Photo: Nigel Sibanda
Disgruntled former Covid support staff protested outside the office of Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi, who allegedly promised to give them their jobs back following the expiration of their contracts.
According to the workers, who demanded to be reinstated, they were appointed in 2020 during the height of the Covid pandemic to assist stuff in public hospitals across the province.
They said their contracts were terminated in March. Independent Liberation and Allied Workers Union president Thapelo Mafa said the offices of the premier and the health MEC promised that their contracts would be extended.
“They said the contracts of EPWP [Expanded Public Works Programme] workers who are serving the department of health, Covid contractors and nurses who were employed through agencies would be given [jobs].
To date, only the EPWP workers were taken,” he said. Mafa said although they were hired as Covid contractors, they needed to return to work as their skills were still needed.
“There’s an employment policy and circular 17 which says if there’s an internal post or our skills are still needed, it is the responsibility of the department to provide a long-term post.
“What they are doing now is recruit others and leave us outside. Our skills are still needed within the department,” he said.
Mafa said nothing was mentioned in their contracts about them not being able to work for the department beyond the Covid period.
“We have done so much for this country, we were the front-line workers and we were never taken care of,” he said.
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One of the disgruntled workers, Grace Kgoale, said on 18 April, Lesufi announced they should go back to work but when they got to their different work stations, they were sent back home.
“He said we must go back to work on 24 April, when we got there we were told to bring the circular because the premier had not sent it to them,” she said.
Kgoale said they felt the decision to terminate their contract has been unfair.
“When no-one wanted to work at the beginning of Covid, we risked our lives and worked, we worked until Covid was no longer a threat.
They only are now prioritising doctors and nurses while support stuff like porters, cleaners, checks and kitchen stuff are left behind,” she said.
“We feel this is unfair because we were all under the same roof. Some lost their lives while some took Covid home and killed their parents, children, neighbours and friend.
When the president spoke, he said he owes us as front-liners but, today, we are no longer needed and we are useless.”
Workers representative, Tshepo Moholola said this was very painful. “The government employed them on a persal system which closed the Sassa grants for their children and now the children are not able to go to school.
“When you try to apply for anything, the persal system says you are a government employee but we are not working.
We want to know what we must do with that persal number because we are not employed by the government any more, or earning a salary.”
Moholola added what was even surprising was that when they were hired, they were told they were essential workers.
But, now, they were being called support staff. The premier’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
READ MORE: Gauteng Department of Health can’t afford to keep temporary Covid-19 staff on payroll
– lungam@citizen.co.za
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