The Congress of South African Trade Unions in the Eastern Cape commends the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) for holding a successful Service Delivery Campaign launch on Friday, 17 February 2023 at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha.

NEHAWU is organized in almost all sectors of the public service and is the eyes and ears of the Federation and the broader society where it is organized. Its members are at the coal face of service delivery and at the receiving end of anger and frustration displayed by the communities that receive poor services from government institutions. The main contributors to the lack of quality service can be attributed to ageing infrastructure, inadequate tools of trade and worsening working conditions the workers who in their majority are union members. In the course of rendering services to the general public, the workers are facing the mentioned challenges.

NEHAWU decided to launch this campaign in the Eastern Cape due to the province’s reputation of being the hotspot regarding the challenges mentioned above, which impact negatively on quality service delivery, with King Sabata Dalindyebo Region being the worst in healthcare. In as much as the campaign is about service delivery across the public sector, focus was directed to Health Department, and the MEC Nomakhosazana was invited.

NEHAWU President, Comrade Mike Shingange did not mince his words when delivering his speech, highlighting the plight of the workers and what the public deserves in terms of services. MEC Nomakhosazana committed the Provincial Government to addressing issues raised by NEHAWU when accepting a list of grievances presented by the affiliate and recommended regular meetings to monitor progress and address new challenges as this would strengthen the relationship and cooperation while taking service delivery to a better level.

Alliance components were in attendance and expressed their support of the campaign. The Public Service Delivery Campaign is not exclusive to NEHAWU, but it is a societal matter that the union has anchored. This campaign must find a way of gaining traction so that its impact can be massive. Ours is to mobilize the broader section of the society to support the campaign. The public stands to benefit from the success of the campaign as it would mean better public service delivery for all.

Issued by COSATU Eastern Cape

Contact:

Mkhawuleli Maleki
COSATU Provincial Secretary
Mobile: 082 339 5482