The South African Emergency Personnel’s Union (SAEPU) is planning a total shutdown of EMS services in Free State. The shutdown follows after Free State Health seniors’ failure to resolve challenges brought to their attention by SAEPU. On the 21st of August 2019 we marched to Premier Sisi Ntombela’s office to submit memorandum of challenges faced by workers but to date nothing has been done other done sitting in a boardroom discussing the same thing.
The challenges that were brought to their attention are as follows:
v Late payments of overtimes.
v Unfair labour practice
v Fruitless expenditure from paying ECT’s and AEA’’s.
v Request for EMS station in every district.
v Demand for danger allowance payments including the ones deducted.
v Lack of equipments to execute the job, no consumables, no clinical monitoring devices.
v New employees earning more than old employees.
v Safety of EMS personnel when responding to calls.
v Special Ambulances must be cancelled, everyone working for EMS must utilise them.
v Shift leaders are not PAs; managers who need PAs must appoint them.
v Unfair dismissal of workers while managers are protected.
We didn’t find joy during our engagements with department because they still give us the same answers that led us to the march. The negotiations started in April till to date there is no progress in all issues we have raised. On the same breath we are calling for the removal of HOD because he does not inspire confidence.
We escalated the matter back to premier’s office. We are giving the premier until the 12th of November to speedily resolve these issues, failure in which we will completely shutdown services on the 13th November.
Issued by SAEPU
For inquiries Contact
Makuwa Kgaladi
076 478 1064/ 065 863 2494
Email: saepu.headoffice@gmail.com