MBOMBELA – The protest call was made by undertakers affiliated to the National Funeral Practitioners Association of South Africa and its Unification Task Team which comprises of 17 funeral-related associations and forums.

The shutdown was held on Monday, Tuesday and today. Lebo Mnisi, president of Safpa said on Monday, “We are not supporting the strike and we will continue to operate as normal.

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“We are an organisation that promotes adherence to regulations and we believe there are other avenues that can be explored to address the challenges we face as undertakers in SA,” he said.

Mnisi warned members of Safpa who might want to partake in the strike, not to do so under the banner of the association. On Monday, some funeral undertakers in areas around Mbombela were operating, while others remained closed.

Mnisi said, “Clients must come to us; we are open and prepared to assist them in whatever way. We are all facing the common problems, but the call to shut down funeral parlours for three days is inhumane and has an element of violence. Where should bereaved families take their loved ones if we are not working?” He called on managers of funeral parlours to elevate their grievances politely by engaging government and not fighting with their clients.

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“We don’t accept the manner in which this strike is organised. We want to work in a professional way,” he said. According to Mnisi, members of the other organisations were not happy when the Department of Health started to inspect funeral parlours and issued some with certificates of competency, a requirement due to the Covid-19 pandemic regulations.

“Some of their members were not issued with certificates of competency because they were found not to follow certain regulations. The forensic labs and hospitals also want this documentation, which most of those striking do not have, hence they decided to strike,” he said.

Mpumalanga News learned that some members of Safpa in Matsulu and other areas opted to close their businesses out of fear of being attacked by the striking undertakers. Sam Mlotshwa of SM Funerals revealed that his employees were forced to closed doors after receiving threats from protesters.

Sam Mnisi of Mandleleni Funeral Services in Pienaar said although he opened his business on Monday, he was uncertain of the future as some of his colleagues had theirs closed. “We are not sure what to do and some of the demands are not clear to us as young businesses,” he said.

On Sunday, Muzi Hlengwa, the president of the National Funeral Practitioners Association of SA, said all parlours should close their premises during the shutdown. Hlengwa said there would be no removals of bodies from hospitals to homes and no burials. He said the industry had been “reasonably patient” with government, but had nothing to show apart from empty promises.

The list of demands includes: municipal by-laws amended to accommodate the building of bulk or cluster or complex storages; government to allocate a Covid-19 relief fund for the funeral industry with immediate effect; undertakers to claim and be paid direct by the Road Accident Fund using the session agreement; the National Consumer Commission to initiate engagements with the funeral industry in working together towards regulating and recognising it as a prominent sector in the economy of the country; and the Department of Small Business Development to channel some of its budget to the funeral industry through grants that will assist in the development of small and emerging undertakers.