Nupsaw community health workers and health facility assistants in the Northern Cape will stage a march to the provincial Department of Health’s offices in Kimberley on May 8 to demand permanent contracts.
NATIONAL Union of Public Service and Allied Workers Union (Nupsaw) community health workers and health facility assistants in the Northern Cape will stage a march to the provincial Department of Health’s offices in Kimberley on May 8 to demand permanent contracts.
Nupsaw provincial organiser Thapelo Thole said that health facility assistants (HFAs) fall under non-governmental organisations contracted as Expanded Public Works Programme workers or the Department of Social Development.
“HFAs who were working as cleaners and general workers were expected to fill vacant posts as personal assistants and secretaries for chief executive officers while they were only paid meagre stipends of R3,500,” said Thole.
He stated that HFAs were expected to train new assistants while they were not permanently employed.
Thole said they were not being paid the requisite minimum wage and were not receiving any bonuses or increases.
“Community health workers (CHWs) also want to be absorbed by the Department of Health. Nursing students are being brought into the Province from the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga while CHWs also want the opportunity to study nursing.”
He believed that they were entitled to a 12.5 percent increase as opposed to the 9. 6 percent increase that was implemented.
Thole indicated that while measurements were taken every year for uniforms, CHWs were expected to purchase their own uniforms and have the logo embroidered onto their clothes.
The Department of Health did not respond to media enquiries by the time of publication.
