NEHAWU in Limpopo is on course in its preparation for a Provincial Day of Action

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] in Limpopo is on course in its preparation for a provincial day of action on the 31st July 2019.

The aim of the campaign is to highlight challenges experienced by public servants in the province and represents a a determined effort by the union to put pressure on the government in Limpopo to address those challenges.

The campaign will furthermore send a clear message to the 6th administration not to continue in the path of the 5th administration which undermined workers’ demands which remains unattended even today.

The union will in this campaign hand over memorandum of demands to the departments of Health, Treasury, Public Works Roads & Infrastructure as well as the office of the Premier. The following are the highlight of our key challenges and demands:

•    shortage of staff in the department of health: nurses, groundsman, cleaners, ward attendants, administration officers, Allied Health Professionals, etc.

•   Continuous shortage of pharmaceutical supplies in health facilities.

•   Withdrawal of circulars 05 of 2019 and 28 0f 2019 which grounds government vehicles

•   Non appointment of over 400 post community nurses and other post of community service health care professionals.

•   Violent attacks of health professionals in the workplaces

•   That the MEC of health has failed in her duties to resolve systemic challenges in health and therefore demands that she must be fired.

•   The reconfiguration of departments without consulting trade unions, in particular, the movement of roads maintenance component from public works to RAL.

•    Treasury’s continuation of austerity measures

NEHAWU is furthermore unshaken in its view that the Director-General of government in Limpopo Mr. Nape Nchabeleng has failed the people and workers of Limpopo by incurring an irregular expenditure of R3,9 million as confirmed by the Auditor General. The union’s position remains that he played a disruptive factor in the implementation of the incentive policy framework and has proved incapable to resolve the standoff between government and workers on this matter.

We also call on the Premier of Limpopo to Cde Chupu Mathabatha to immediately rescind the decision by his executive to move the roads maintenance component to RAL with immediate effect and consult with trade unions organized in the sector. The Premier must further decisively instruct the withdrawal of Treasury notes behind austerity measures in this province. The Premier must immediately remove the HOD of treasury Mr. Pratt out of that department with immediate effect as he has become a law unto himself.

We, therefore, are now busy mobilizing our members and our structures to come out in numbers in pursuant of these demands. It’s about time that government in Limpopo addresses workers’ demands and stop burying their heads in the sand and wish these demands away.

Issued by NEHAWU Limpopo Secretariat Office For further information, please contact: Jacob Adams at 082 558 5966 or email: khaya@nehawu.org.za