One of South Africa's largest hospitals on Thursday was barricaded and protesting workers set car tyres on fire blocking ambulance access, creating chaos for patients and reportedly disrupting operations. More than 100 support staff stopped work to demand Johannesburg's Charlotte Maxeke hospital, also known as Joburg General, pay performance bonuses and overtime, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) said.
Striking staff, who included nurses and porters, picketed inside the hospital building, up-ended bins and barricaded doors to prevent police from entering the site, an AFP correspondent saw. Tshepo Mokheranyana, NEHAWU's regional leader, said his union was forced to take action after the government failed to intervene despite a rally at the Health Department in March.
"Employers must never take workers for granted because if workers have worked hard... they should be rewarded for that. No one should take that effort for granted," Mokheranyana told AFP.
Comments
Comments are closed.