“Tell them we want our money,” said one of Themba Hospital’s staff members as he sat outside the hospital this afternoon. He was part of the majority of the hospital’s staff that went on strike this morning after being fed up with their working conditions.
Staff barricaded the road just inside the hospital gates, refusing to let any vehicles pass through and danced and sang at the gate for a while. The rest found shady spots under the trees and sat there talking for the whole day.
The group’s spokesperson, who did not want to give his name, said that they want the Department of Health to address issues such as a shortage of daily resources and staff and pay them for the large amount of overtime they have been working for the last four months.
The gathering was quite peaceful and SAPS kept watch to ensure that no violence broke out.
See photos of the strike here.
