NEHAWU North West Statement On The Arrogance Of Social Development Leadership
Wednesday October 06, 2021
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] in KwaZulu-Natal is outraged by the atrocious incident of an armed robbery that resulted in the fatal shooting of our Emergency Medical Services [EMS] workers.
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] in the North West Province is angered by the high level of arrogance by the MEC and HOD of Social Development Department.
NEHAWU in the province has on numerous occasions raised serious matters pertaining to Occupational Health and Safety [OHS] that the department ought to correct and resolve for the safety of our members and workers. However our concerns have fell on deaf ears instead the department has been arrogant to a point of subjecting our members to unfair treatment.
The department instead of resolving the issues that the union has raised in relation to OHS, they have resorted to victimising our members, leaders in the department. They have resorted to using state resources and wasting money on an unnecessary court order to bar our members from closing unsafe buildings which don’t comply with OHS. The Labour Court dismissed the case of the department.
Despite losing at the Labour Court, the department has continued to disregard the law and continues to harass workers and expects them to work in dangerous areas and threatening them with leave without pay. As NEHAWU, we find this totally unacceptable and things cannot continue in such a manner. Our members cannot be expected to work in dangerous and hazardous conditions that even the Department of Labour has prohibited.
As NEHAWU, we call on the MEC to withdraw the directive of leave without pay with immediate effect due to the fact that the HOD has dismally failed to resolve our matters. The main priority and focus of the department should be towards ensuring that there exists a conducive working environment wherein workers are expected to work. NEHAWU in the province wants to send a clear message to the HOD, that no amount of arrogance has ever defeated the workers and if this continues beyond this point, we will be left with no other option than to mobilise and call for his surgical removal.
Lastly, the union in the province will spare no MEC or HOD when it comes to issues affecting workers and this repugnant arrogance by politicians and HODs will be met by the might of NEHAWU members very soon. Equally, we call on the Premier to reign-in the MECs and HODs from their anti-worker agenda.
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Issued by NEHAWU North West Secretariat Office
For more information, please contact: Patrick Makhafane (NEHAWU North West Provincial Secretary) at 018 381 4585 or 082 455 2486
email: patrick@nehawu.org.za or
Ignatius Msoki (NEHAWU North West Provincial Deputy Secretary) at 018 381 4585 or 063 685 1880 or
email to Ignatius@nehawu.org.za