The Department of Health says the Rob Ferreira Hospital laundry room is 90 per cent complete.

“It is estimated to be complete by month end. They still need to install a steam chimney,” said department spokesman, Dumisani Malamule.

This is after auxiliary workers affiliated to the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) workers staged a sit-in in the hospital’s boardroom last week and protested on Monday.

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Their concerns included the lack of a laundry room at the hospital. They also said they have not received personal protective equipment or the tools required to fulfil their duties since 2016 and they wanted the nurses’ home renovations to be completed.

The laundry is often washed at Bushbuckridge or Bethal. The linen is ironed and sterilised at Barberton Hospital.
A meeting to continue resolving issues raised by the workers is scheduled for next week. The workers will meet with the Department of Health.

They had a meeting on Monday and Tuesday afternoon.

According to Welcome Mnisi, Nehawu provincial secretary, better communication between the department, workers and hospital management will make a difference.

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“If the department had communicated with the workers about the uniforms the service provider was supplying, they would have known their concerns in advance. Rob Ferreira is too big to continue doing laundry at other hospitals,” he added.
Malamule said the department is attending to the issues the workers raised.