COSATU and NEHAWU statement on the misleading statement by the Minister of Health
4 April 2020
The Congress of South African Trade Unions [COSATU] and its affiliate the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] condemns the misleading media statement issued by the Department of Health yesterday.
In the statement the Minister of Health, Dr Zwelini Mkhize, reports that “We have engaged the unions, COSATU and NEHAWU, on the matter of Personal Protective Equipment”. We want to inform our members, workers and the general public that is far from the truth. The Minister did not engage COSATU or its affiliate NEHAWU on the matter of PPE’s.
NEHAWU has been persistently trying to have meetings with the Minister to discuss the safety of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic with no success. Dr Mkhize has shunned all meeting requests by NEHAWU and this led to the union approaching the court in a bid to compel the Minister to take proactive measures to protect workers from contracting the virus while in the line of duty.
We find it revolting that the Minister elected to mislead the nation about this important issue. Our view is that he regards this issue as a Public Relations problem rather than an issue of life and death. These lies by the Minister are going to poison relations and harden the attitudes of workers and it will not end well.