Johannesburg – Health professionals at the forefront of the government’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic have been forced to buy their own personal protective equipment (PPE).
This shocking revelation was made by National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) general secretary Zola Saphetha in an affidavit filed at the Labour Court in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
“Nehawu is aware that in many of the health facilities, employees, especially doctors and nurses supplement the inadequate government-issued PPE with PPE procured at (their) own cost,” reads Saphetha’s affidavit.
The country’s biggest public sector union has taken Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi and the nine provincial health MECs to the Labour Court on an urgent basis to meaningfully engage with the union on measures to mitigate the risk of infection to employees, measures taken to date and plans or measures to ensure that workers are provided with PPE where required.
Nehawu wants the government to be directed by the Labour Court to file a report on the outcome and/or progress of the the meaningful engagement within three days of an order, and the union wants to be allowed to reply two days later.
Pending the meaningful engagement and the court’s final order, the union wants its members who are required to be issued with PPE not to be compelled to work without it and not to be threatened or subjected to disciplinary action and/or any other unfair treatment for refusing to work without the appropriate PPE.
According to Nehawu, Nxesi should be directed to, within three days of the order, to exercise his powers in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which gives him the discretion to prohibit the performance of duties that endanger and/or risk the health and safety of employees.
“While Nehawu expects that the respondents may plead that they are unable to procure all the PPE required for employees at this stage due to unavailability, some of the reasons provided for some of the workplaces do not explain why (the unavailability of PPE at those workplaces) cannot be overcome,” Saphetha said.
The union insisted that there was no evidence that health facilities were taking any steps to address their inability to provide PPE and that the government was taking any steps to assist the health facilities to solve the problem.
Saphetha said that on Monday, Nehawu, the Public Servants Association of SA, the Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of SA, and the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA had an emergency teleconference with the head of the KwaZulu-Natal health department, Dr Sandile Tshabalala, and it was confirmed at the meeting that steps were being taken to address the problem but that private service providers willing to assist were charging exorbitant prices.
Other provinces, including Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Mpumalanga, had also reported a serious lack of PPE, according to Saphetha. “The risk of employees being infected with the Covid-19 virus is real and the concern of employees and Nehawu is not contrived,” Saphetha said, adding that workers were required to work without the necessary PPE.
The National Union of Metalworkers of SA yesterday threw its weight behind Nehawu’s fight for PPE.
The matter has been set down for Tuesday at the Labour Courtbut may have to be heard telephonically. Last week, Labour and Labour Appeal Court Judge President Basheer Waglay issued a directive that no cases would be allocated during the national lockdown, and that if an urgent matter was heard it would be done telephonically, with the other side being duly informed by the applicant where necessary.
Meanwhile, the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers yesterday called on the government to provide PPE to community health workers dispatched to trace, report symptoms of, and monitor contacts of patients.