POLOKWANE – A group of security officers are marching to the Department of Health to submit a memorandum of demands, calling for protection under Section 197 and a minimum salary of R10 000 per month.

The officers are also demanding to be absorbed into the constitution, claiming they are being outsourced and face possible retrenchment.

Security officers in Polokwane are submitting a memorandum to the Department of Health, calling for absorption under Section 197 and improved wages. pic.twitter.com/DONUz0Z6lP

— Polokwane Observer (@PolokwaneObserv) February 24, 2026

They argue that the department is not playing its role in protecting health facilities, as some are security officers at hospitals and clinics.

What is Section 197?

Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) protects employees when a business or service is transferred from one employer to another.

Its core purpose is to ensure that job losses do not occur simply because a business has been sold, outsourced, or taken over by a new company.

In other words, when a transfer takes place, employees are moved to the new employer under the same employment conditions they had before.

The new employer must offer work under terms that are at least as favourable as those that existed before the transfer.

In addition, any outstanding wages, leave pay, or other accumulated benefits must be identified and included as part of the transfer process.

What being ‘absorbed into the constitution’ means

Security officers are demanding that the existing constitutional and legal protections against unfair dismissal and job losses, specifically codified in Section 197 of the LRA, be applied to their situation.

They fear that the outsourcing is aimed at getting rid of them, when in fact, their jobs should have been secure under the law.