Last minute bid to prevent union from picketing National Health Laboratory

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) is set to forge ahead with its phased protest plan, starting with a lunchtime picket at the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) headquarters in Johannesburg on Friday 21 August.

The NHLS has, however, lodged an urgent application to have laboratory workers declared as essential service providers. A successful bid would effectively halt any planned protest action within a legal framework. On Friday morning, the application remained undecided.

Nehawu general secretary Zola Saphetha claimed that recent engagements with the NHLS had been unsuccessful. Saphetha added that the bitter wage dispute had been brought to the attention of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration which had subsequently provided a non-resolution certificate. Saphetha added:

“As Nehawu, we find it unacceptable that the NHLS management has elected to defend unfair labour practices by discriminating our members and workers who successfully appealed for their salary levels to be upgraded.”

Nehawu prepares for ‘total shutdown’

The NHLS picket forms part of a broader protest plan announced by Nehawu on Thursday. The union has cited inadequate salaries and a dire lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), leading to a rise in infections and deaths amongst healthcare workers, as primary concerns. Saphetha revealed that qualms brought before Health Minister Zweli Mkhize had not been appropriately addressed.

Protest action, intended to ‘protect frontline workers’, is expected to intensify on 24 August, when healthcare workers across the country embark on a week-long picket. A national stay-away is expected to take place on Friday 28 August.

Saphetha warned that if initial protest action in August did not garner an adequate response from government, striking would climax in the first week of September. Saphetha elaborated:

“On 3 September 2020, it will be the National Day of Action in the form of demonstrations across provinces where memorandums will be handed-over to the President of the country, Cyril Ramaphosa, Speaker of the National Assembly, Thandi Modise, and all Premiers in provinces.”

NHLS in bid to prevent protest action

The mass protest action comes at an inopportune time, amid South Africa’s ongoing battle against the spread of the coronavirus. South Africa recently entered a lighter phase of lockdown, owing to a decrease in infections and the subsequent easing of pressure on the country’s embattled healthcare system.

The threat of a ‘second wave’ still persists, with both Mkhize and Ramaphosa pleading with citizens to practice social distancing and adhere to proper hygiene protocols. Government has warned that, under the National State of Disaster and Disaster Management Act, and increase in infections could result in South Africa being placed under a harsher lockdown once more.

The NHLS, which plays a crucial role in the country’s testing efforts, handling the bulk of South Africa’s samples and tracing strategies, has argued against the strike, saying:

“The NHLS believes that the employees are unable to go on strike as they render an essential service.”