‘No pay, no work’ say state doctors
Members of the South African Medical Association (Sama) in Limpopo threatened to stop working should its members not receive their salaries at the end of this month.
POLOKWANE – Sama Limpopo threatened to invoke the inverse of ‘no work, no pay’ principle should its members or supporters not get their salaries with all the allowances (i.e. commuted overtime and rural allowance) on 31 January.
They made this announcement last week because of the possibility of non-payment of January salaries for newly appointed doctors in the province.
You might also want to read: Pietersburg Provincial Hospital has new CEO in the driver’s seat
“In its urgent Provincial Executive Committee meeting held on 18 January, Sama Limpopo has again noted with displeasure an overwhelming number of calls from the doctors in the province, the majority of which are medical interns, indicating they have not yet received and signed their employment contracts with the Department of Health and as a result, have not yet been captured on the Persal system,” Dr Seshoka Muila, Secretary of Sama Limpopo said.
He said this translates to the risk of non-payment of January salaries or partial payment with omission of commuted overtime and or rural allowance.
He said at the recent Sama and Department of Health welcoming function for the new doctors, the MEC for Health, Dr Phophi Ramathuba indicated with no ambiguity that all the doctors must be paid in full with all the allowances at the end of the month.
“She went on to point out that doctors must visit Human Resource offices in their respective hospitals and remain there until they’re captured on the system and in possession of Persal numbers.”
Sama demanded that the MEC holds accountable those “responsible for the disaster which threatens the stability of the healthcare system in Limpopo”.
“We expect of the MEC to properly exercise her leadership role and demote, suspend and/or dismiss all those who continue to undermine the medical profession and treat it as a non-essential service within the Department. This demand we will fight for and will not rest until it is met.”
The Department of Health in an internal circular issued on 19 January ordered all HR practitioners to ensure all new appointments are captured by no later than 23 January for the supplementary run of 24 January to ensure payment of salaries and allowances by the end of the month. HR Practitioners were warned in the circular that dereliction of duty which will lead to Interns and Community Service Health Professionals not receiving their salaries and allowances timeously, would be dealt with decisively. They were also requested to submit progress or status reports regarding the capturing by the close of business on 26 January.
Derick Kganyago, Spokesperson for the department said the department is working on resolving the issue.
“We have committed ourselves to ensure the information is captured and doctors are getting paid on time.”
