Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Executive Council has lambasted workers at the Fort Napier mortuary who have been on a go-slow for the last two weeks.
EXCO described the action by the workers as “immoral, disrespectful to the deceased as well as inhuman to the bereaved families”.
Council yesterday received a report, presented by KZN Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, about the ongoing strike action at provincial mortuaries.
In a statement issued today, the EXCO said it was appalled by the report and called on staff to end the strike to ace the consequences.
“This comes after many failed attempts by the Department of Health to resolve the matter amicably. 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 their relatives as planned,” the statement read.
It continued, “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. The matter has however reached a stalemate on some of the issues and is currently before the courts.
EXCO decided today that if the employees do not return to work immediately disciplinary action must be taken against them.”
The strike is related to salaries, protective gear and uniforms among other things.