Nehawu court bid delayed
The court battle between the health department and Nehawu has been delayed. The union approached the Labour Court over a lack of protective gear for health workers.
It wants to compel the government to provide masks, gloves, and sanitizers to members.
The hearing of the urgent application has been delayed as papers were filed late.
“The risk of employees being infected with the COVID-19 virus is real,” Zola Saphetha, general secretary of Nehawu, said in court papers.
The union wants the ministers of health and labour, among others, to establish rules on treatment in the absence of appropriate protective equipment. Some of its members in KwaZulu-Natal have been infected, it says.
“The failure to provide guidelines to mitigate the risk to employees in the circumstances unjustifiably and without valid reason places employees at great risk and violates their right to work in a safe environment,” the affidavit said.
The union has also asked the government to report on the outcomes of engagement with unions within three days of a meeting.
They asked that health workers not be forced to work without PPE and will not face disciplinary action for refusal to work without the equipment.
Nehawu and its mother body Cosatu say health workers are most at risk of contracting the coronavirus.
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– Additional reporting Reuters
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Source: eNCA
