No toilet paper for emergency staff
Working conditions at the emergency medical services (EMS) call centre in Antimoon Street, Ladanna are so bad that workers reportedly have to bring their own toilet paper to work, as there is none available at the call centre.
POLOKWANE – Working conditions at the emergency medical services (EMS) call centre in Antimoon Street, Ladanna are so bad that workers reportedly have to bring their own toilet paper to work, as there is none available at the call centre.
One EMS employee, who spoke to Review on condition of anonymity, supplied a picture of a notice that was put up on the toilet door stating: “We are running out of toilet paper. Please bring along your own paper”.
“None of us are happy with the conditions under which we must work, but we have no choice. Work is scarce and we have families to support. We work 12-hour shifts in the call centre. The chairs are uncomfortable and broken. If you don’t sit still you could easily fall off your chair.
“The call centre is on the second floor of the building and more than three months ago a water pipe burst and was never repaired. We don’t have water and must go to the ground floor if we want water or want to use the toilet,” the employee said.
The employee also mentioned that the call centre was inaccessible to people with disabilities. “Since we moved here about three years ago, the lift has never worked, and the only way we can get to the second floor is by using the stairs. One of my colleagues is physically impaired and he has to use the stairs because there is no alternative for him,” the employee explained.
He said the storeroom was full of equipment and stationery that had never been used. “I was in the storeroom on Tuesday and everything in that storeroom is full of dust, because it is never used,” the employee said.
The employee also revealed that EMS office personnel were evicted from their previous offices at the Randmeester Building because the rent was allegedly not paid.
EMS office personnel were split up, with some working from the call centre and others from department of health’s head office in College Avenue.
“We also have EMS offices in Dorp Street, but the contractor was never paid so we cannot move in,” the employee added.
Adéle van der Linde, health spokesperson, refuted the allegation about the building not being paid for, saying it was untrue. Due to the inauguration of new MEC’s at the time of going to print, full comment on the matter will be published next week.
