*This article has been edited
Durban - Several families have spoken of their grief at waiting for up to 48 hours to fetch their loved ones from a Durban mortuary where employees went on strike on Monday.
Staff at the Magwaza Maphalala (Gale) Street mortuary put the blame at the doors of the Department of Health for failing to pay the salaries and deploying cadres to management positions.
The disgruntled group downed tools on Monday morning, delaying post-mortems, and only returned to work in the afternoon after the department intervened.
The mortuary was already behind after workers went on a go-slow at the weekend.
Families were at pains trying to get the bodies of their loved ones from the province’s busiest mortuary on Monday.
Jamila Juma demanded to know when her cousin’s baby would be released to the family.
Weeping and distraught outside the mortuary office, Gime Masinga, 26, of Maputo, who lives in Kenville, pleaded with the officials to release her 4-day-old baby.
The baby died on Friday and with no paperwork, she was assisted by the Islamic Burial Council (IBC) KwaZulu-Natal.
“According to our custom, a person must be buried as soon as possible. We have received no answers from the mortuary. We are not sure when the body will be released,” said Masinga, a mother of two.
She told the Daily News she was able to get assistance from pathologists after the protest ceased late in the afternoon.
The families said they were given no explanation as to when their loved ones would be released, or whether post-mortems had been conducted.
Mako Makhaye, of uMlazi, was waiting for the body of her brother Sibusiso Makhaye to be released.
“We have lost someone and now we have to endure this wait. They did not give us any answers. We were only told they were on strike,” she said.
Another uMlazi resident, Veronica Zwane, 61, said she had been going to the mortuary since Saturday to fetch the body of her sister, Thulasizwe.
The 38-year-old died at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital on November 16.
“I was told her body was on the waiting list for a post-mortem. This is very stressful to have to come here daily. It costs us travel time and emotional stress on top of the grieving,” she said.
According to Ahmed Paruk, chairman of the IBC, the mortuary received between 18 and 25 bodies a day.
Alternative mortuaries are in Phoenix, Stanger and Pinetown.
Paruk said the IBC facilitated the release of at least three bodies a month.
“They have various reasons to down tools. Bodies are transported to other mortuaries because the fridges don’t work sometimes.
“The IBC appreciates the work the staff at Gale Street mortuary do. They work under stringent conditions and are exposed to all kinds of bodies that have an impact on their mental state. They are also at risk to infections,” he said.
Staff were demanding:
- The removal of the new manager, claiming he was incompetent, prejudiced staff and was a cadre deployee.
- To be paid overtime wages from July this year. They claimed the previous manager had halted payments and called for an investigation into overtime wages. The outcome of the investigation was not disclosed to workers.
- An end to alleged tender fraud in the purchasing of sub-standard equipment and protective apparatus like soap, gloves, blades, uniforms and body bags.
Provincial Health Department spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi said: “The department is dealing internally with issues of employees at Gale Street. Management met with them and workers have continued to perform their duties.”
Daily News