Lab staff set to strike on Wednesday

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About 5 000 National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) workers across the country are set to go on strike on Wednesday - action that some warn could be averted. Jack Bloom of the DA felt the strike could be called off if the Gauteng Health Department paid the almost R700 million it owed to the NHLS, enabling the service to afford fair salary increases. The National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) confirmed that NHLS workers were preparing for a national strike. “This looming strike is a result of the failed wage negotiations,” Nehawu said. Some employee demands include a salary adjustment of 7.3%, a housing allowance of R2 000 a month and a shift allowance of R50, or 45% of their hourly rate - whichever is the greater.

Nehawu said all these demands were submitted to the NHLS on February 24, sparking marathon wage talks aimed at having pay hikes by April 1.

But, when discussions deadlocked, the unions declared a dispute. All internal processes to resolve the dispute failed and the matter was referred to the CCMA for facilitation.

Tahir Maepa, of the Public Servants Association, said the full implementation of the wage agreement had been dragging on since August last year.

“The employer failed to meaningfully respond, and so a dispute was declared,” said Maepa. “When the internal dispute procedure failed, the matter was referred to the CCMA and the CCMA issued a certificate of non-resolution on June 22.”

Maepa said the employees were unhappy with their salaries.

According to Nehawu, the NHLS and the Department of Health are guilty of underpaying workers. If the strike goes ahead, many thousands of state patients will suffer as diagnostic tests are delayed.

Health-e News