NEHAWU DENOUNCES THE TRADING OF CORPSES AT CHRIS HANI BARAGWANATH HOSPITAL AND DEMAND THE INSOURCING OF SECURITY SERVICES
NEHAWU is deeply disturbed to hear that workers at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, are unethically and immorally calling private funeral undertakers ,to inform them about deceased patients for a fee. We condemn this abominable act of ill-discipline ,and we demand answers from the management of the institution ,especially because the private funeral undertakers are allowed by the hospital security to camp outside the hospital mortuary.
The union is adamant that there is no excuse, for any worker to be involved in such an inexcusable behaviour. As an organization that represents workers, we urge the workers to be guided by the principles of unity, honesty and solidarity, when performing their duties.
We reiterate our call for the termination of the security contract with the company that is currently guarding the hospital. It does not make sense that private undertakers are allowed to go in and out of the hospital without providing body numbers of the people they are collecting or carrying.
It is indisputable that outsourced security services lead to a less safe working environment and they encourage or partake in corrupt activities. These contracted security companies want to only maximize profits and they achieve this by employing non-vetted stuff, cutting corners and reducing workforce. The contracted security personnel is normally poorly paid and the contracted staff comes and goes with little institutional knowledge or loyalty. This trend applies to all outsourced services.
NEHAWU is happy to hear that the Gauteng Department of Health is instituting an investigation of these allegations at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. But we also want them to present a plan of how do they plan to implement the ANC NEC's decision to do away with outsourcing of support services in the health sector. The NEC in its 2015 January 8th statement said, The ANC supports the efforts to improve the security and the efficiency of supply of critical services in the health sector, such as cleaning, food, laundry and others. The ANC government has decided that these services will no longer be outsourced".
As part of our ongoing service delivery campaign ,we will be pushing for the implementation of this decision and we will be focusing at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital as a starting point. We are also encouraging our members and all workers in the health sector to make sure that they provide the best possible care to the sick, the infirm and the elderly. We call on them to denounce and fight corruption and unethical behaviour.
Statement issued by Sizwe Pamla, NEHAWU media liaison officer, February 6 2015
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
