Durban – The KwaZulu-Natal Funeral Directors’ Association has urged the Health Department to take drastic action against staff at the Park Rynie State Mortuary who downed tools, leaving 17 bodies unattended.
Angry at the situation, Dhayalan Moodley, the association’s representative, said this was a “lack of respect” for the dead.
“Our forefathers treated the dead with the utmost respect, but that is non-existent nowadays. Families are left to suffer the consequences of individuals who don’t want to work.
“The Department of Health should take strong action against them,” he said.
Moodley said mortuary staff downing tools was also prevalent in Durban and Pinetown.
The families of the 17 deceased – who were moved from Park Rynie to the Port Shepstone State Mortuary – have also criticised the department for keeping them in the dark over why their loved ones were moved in the first place.
On Monday, mortuary staff at Park Rynie all reported in sick on Monday, forcing the department to move the bodies to Port Shepstone, 63 kilometreskm away, on Tuesday and on Wednesday.
Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo assisted with conducting post-mortems in Port Shepstone on Tuesday and Wednesday.
His spokesperson, Desmond Motha, said police with experience in conducting post-mortems had been called in to assist with the backlog.
Eight bodies were moved on Tuesday, while nine arrived in Port Shepstone on Wednesday.
Among them was 24-year-old Thembinkosi Mhlongo of Ifafa.
He was killed on Sunday, allegedly by members of his community who accused him of being an accomplice in a murder.
His mother, Zanele Mhlongo, told the Daily News on Wednesday that when she got to Park Rynie on Tuesday, she was told his body had been moved to Port Shepstone.
When Mhlongo arrived at the Port Shepstone mortuary on Wednesday, she was apparently told to return on Thursday. She was adamant that she would not go home without identifying her son’s body.
“It’s a difficult situation as I don’t have a job and the costs of having to travel here all the way from home are high,” Mhlongo said.
She lives 80km away from Port Shepstone.
Mhlongo asked the mortuary staff to keep her son’s body there until Saturday asbecause the family planned to bury him on Sunday.
Another family also travelled from eMagabheni Townshipne, near Umkomaas, to Port Shepstone to identify their loved one’s body. A car knocked and killed The retired male teacher was knocked over and killed by a car in Mfume, south of Durban, on Friday night.
A relative, who did not want to be named, said: “When we got to Park Rynie on Monday, we were told that work had ground to a halt as staff had not reported for work, and the bodies would be moved to Port Shepstone.
“We were very disappointed by this because preparing for the funeral can be a tedious process,” said the relative who did not want to be named.
“They promised us that (our relative’s body) would be ready by Tuesday or Wednesday, and it seems like they are keeping their promises, which has given us solace,” he said.
They hoped to bury their relative on Saturday.
Motha said the Health MEC, who was informed that six staff at the Port Shepstone mortuary had also called in sick on Wednesday, acknowledged this was an extremely difficult situation for families who had lost loved ones and wanted to bury them.
“We assure family members of the 17 deceased that all post-mortems will be done by Friday afternoon and the bodies will be ready for burial during the weekend,” he said, adding that the situation did not present a crisis because the department had called in trained police staff to assist.
Dhlomo urged the mortuary managers to take responsibility for staff grievances and address them.
According to Dr Imran Keeka, the Democratic Alliance provincial health spokesperson, he had been “reliably informed” that the staff grievances included disputes over roster times, days off and leave.
“They further claim that an unapproved rostering system and overtime policy was imposed on them by Ugu’s district Health Department, which was not in keeping with provincial health norms,” he said.
“(Dhlomo) must either continuously chase after each and every crisis, putting out fires – or he must do the job that the people of KZN pay him for and ensure that his officials do the same.”
Motha denied any knowledge of strike action, saying that the MEC’s priority remained ensuring the corpses were ready for collection by family on Friday.
He did not know if there had been an outbreak of illness that had affected mortuary staff at both premises. He said the staff would produce sick certificates upon returning to work.
Phakama Ndunakazi, National Health, Education and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) provincial secretary-general, said there was no strike at the Park Rynie facility, but staff members were on a go-slow.
“Workers are not happy with the working conditions as they work for up to 11 hours per shift, which is not in line with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
“Working conditions are also very poor as there is a lack of adequate protective gear in the facility and they’re also not happy with the facility manager’s attitude and leadership style, because they say the manager doesn’t treat them equally,” Ndunakazi said.– Additional reporting by ANA