The Northern Cape Department of Health staff, the majority of them belonging to the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) have been on industrial action in the past three months, chief amongst others demanding the removal of the Head of the Department, who was transferred from the Department of Social Development to her current position.
The initial reason, forwarded and shared with the broader public, was that the HOD was coming on board to clean up the finances of the Department. It has been reported that the Provincial Department of Health is sitting with unpaid invoices dating back to the year 2012.
This very same department has been consistently receiving Qualified Audits from the Auditor General Office, in some of the worst cases, they received disclaimers. It is worthy to note that together with Education and Social Development, this very same department constitutes the bulk of the Provincial Budget allocation from the Provincial Treasury and also enjoys Conditional Grants from the National Department of Health. It is therefore understandable that capturing control of the Department is regarded as a strategic move.
It is also cause for concern because NEHAWU remains one of the most influential and important unions within COSATU, with some of the leadership assuming strategic positions within the Provincial and National Legislatures. Some are even deployed to senior management positions within the Department of Health, while others are appointed to Ministerial positions of the ruling party.
Some of the demands forwarded to the Provincial Government are the disbandment of the Anti Corruption Task Team, claiming that it has targeted innocent individuals and this remains to be tested in the court of law.
One member of the Senior Management responsible for the establishment of the Anti Corruption Unit, and subsequent suspension of some officials allegedly implicated in the corruption, has since lost his life in a mysterious way.
But taking a closer look at the current issues in the Department it can be appreciated that the centre of the issues might not necessarily be legitimate grievances raised by the employees. Commentators will also be inclined to trace the conflict to the upcoming February 2017 ANC provincial congress. The conflict is an outflow of different factions trying to position themselves for looting of state resources.
The arrogance displayed by the leadership of the workers and the reluctance of the management to deal with the issues once and for all, is a clear indication that both parties are not willing to yield their positions.
The casualties in the whole unfolding drama are the health services to the communities. The Non-Governmental organizations are not spared, with the Community Health Workers, who are employed through these NGOs, entering the second month without receiving their stipend. On the other hand civil servants continue to draw their salaries uninterruptedly, come the 15th of every month.
Health facilities have been affected by the industrial action, with patients waiting to receive their monthly medication being told to return on another day.
As much as we respect the rights of the working class and the poor to wage an industrial action to force the hand of the employer to ensure that their needs are being met, but when the industrial action affects the services meant for the poor it is a different ball game altogether. Private hospitals and clinics remain open and operational, with government transferring critical cases to the private sector. This, as a matter of course comes with a huge bill to the government.