Nurses protest continues at Limpopo health head office
The management of the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa in Limpopo (Denosa) has secured a meeting with the HOD of the Department of Health, Dr Peter Kgaphola and the management of the department to talk about the plight of community service nurses.
POLOKWANE – The meeting was scheduled to start at 14:30 this afternoon (Monday).
The nurses have been protesting since last Thursday at the department’s head office in Polokwane saying the department has unilaterally withdrawn a contract which ensured them of four year’s work and changed it to one year.
Jacob Molepo, Provincial Organiser of Denosa said there are two groups of nurses who are affected. The nurses currently protesting, post community service nurses, have not been placed timeously at various work stations after finishing their community year. “They have finished their studies and at the beginning of 2017 started with their community service year, one of four years they were to work back to the department. The department however has withdrawn the circular 67 of 2011 effectively by circular number 1 of 2018. They want clarification.” The second group are community service nurses who have just finished their training and who allegedly have been informed they are to work back effectively one year.
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He said the nurses had to work another three years but were instructed on Friday to leave their rooms and go home, as the department would contact them to tell them when and where they had to work. The unions were not consulted on the unilateral withdrawal of circular 67 of 2011.
“Some nurses had nowhere to go as they work in Thohoyandou and perhaps live in Ellisras or Groblersdal,” Molepo said. “They were effectively evicted from their rooms.”
Thabiso Teffo, Spokesperson for the MEC for Health, Phophi Ramathuba, said the department is working hard to ensure the post community service nurses are all allocated by the end of the day to workstaions. He said there is a centrally –based placement system whereby nurses should inform the national department of Health where they want to be placed, but it cannot be guaranteed, because some places may be full. “Our view (the department’s) is that we want to place, on a priority basis, our people from our nursing schools and our bursary holders in the province to work here.”
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He said the department had been engaging since Thursday with the nurses. He reiterated the fact that there are management /labour work forums and this was the first place to discuss any grievances. “People should use these forums as the first place of communication within the department to deal with their issues.” He said he hoped that by the end of the day post community service nurses may know at which clinic or hospitals they would be stationed.
