Security officers working at various clinics on the West Rand picketed at the Mohlakeng Clinic Community Health Centre (CHC) on Monday, 30 September to voice their dissatisfaction and grievances.
According to a notice signed on behalf of the security workers, their primary purpose was to state their demands to management with regard to termination of employment contracts and insourcing of security workers by the Gauteng Department of Health, in other words delegating a job to someone within a company as opposed to someone outside of the company.
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A memorandum with some of the questions raised was also handed over, which included: Why is the department terminating the contract? When would the insourcing of security workers take place? What are the reasons for the termination of the contract with security companies and the Department of Health? Why is the Department of Health using the CPF/ Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) instead of us, the security workers?
For patients and staffers it was business as usual while the striking workers were chanting liberation songs outside the clinic under the watchful eye of the police.
The picketing also had the full support of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). Bethuel Munyai, a Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) councillor said the EFF was in solidarity with the striking workers, and called on workers not to accept that they could be replaced, and encouraged them to report for duty as usual.
“As the EFF we say their struggle is our struggle. There is no way the government can put the CPF in their place and take over their jobs. The CPF is too inexperienced to replace the security personnel, who have families to feed. We are saying to management you are wrong. We are going to fight the matter even at provincial and national level.”
Katlego Pheta and Keorapetse Petersen, both security officers at Mohlakeng Clinic Community Health Centre (CHC) said, “We are concerned about this decision by the Department”.
Mthokozisi Makhathini working as a security officer in Merafong added, “It has been a month that we have not been working, and had termination of contracts given to us”.
