Sowetan reports that patients were last week turned away from a clinic near Mokopane in Limpopo because nurses were on strike.
Pregnant mothers and others in need of medical healthcare at Tshamahansi clinic had to be carted by bakkies a further 8km away to Mosesetjane clinic. An employee at the clinic said the situation was dire. Nurses went on strike on Wednesday, allegedly because they were owed money. According to Dan Makhubela, chairman of Tshamahansi Traditional Council, the nurses were owed R1,300 each. Provincial health department spokesman Thabiso Teffo said the strike was “illegal” and went on to state: “Apparently, the operational manager has failed to submit documents for claims to be paid to the nurses. But we are saying this [strike] should not come at the expense of the community. We sympathise with the nurses ... but we cannot tolerate a situation where the lives of our people are put at risk.”
- Read more of this report by Frank Maponya at SA Labour News
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