Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Executive Council (EXCO) said it was appalled by a report it received on the mortuary staff go slow on Wednesday.
Mortuary staff have embarked on a strike action throughout the province. Director General of EXCO Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize said the report was presented during EXCO sitting in Pietermaritzburg by Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo.
The strike relates to salaries, protective gear and uniforms among other things.
The report stated that mortuary staff, including those at Fort-Napier mortuary in Pietermaritzburg, have been on a “go slow” since early November, resulting in post-mortems being delayed. This has resulted in a backlog with relatives of the deceased not being able to bury the departed as planned.
"The action of the mortuary employees was immoral, disrespectful to the deceased as well as inhuman to the bereaved families. We have called for an end to the strike or else disciplinary action will be taken against striking employees."Mkhize said.
This comes after many failed attempts by the Department of Health to resolve the matter amicably.
"The provincial Department of Health is attending to the matters raised by the employees. However, issues that relate to national competencies are being dealt with by the National Department of Health."Mkhize said.