Govan Mbeki HIV/Aids counsellors strike for better pay
Health volunteers want full time employment from the Mpumalanga Department of Health.
HIGHVELD – More than 40 HIV/Aids counsellors working at clinics and hospitals in the Govan Mbeki municipal area are demanding the Mpumalanga Department of Health employ them permanently.
They went on strike from 1 December to 5 December.
The counsellors said the department failed to fulfil its promise of absorbing them into the system five years ago so that they can enjoy the same benefits as government workers.
They handed over a memorandum with grievances to the department’s officials at a conference that was held in Middelburg from 9 to 11 October.
The counsellors wanted a response on 28 November, but have not yet received it.
They said they want the department to stop using non-governmental organisations to provide service to clinics and hospitals because they are treated as volunteers though they perform valuable service.
The department pays non-governmental organisations which in turn pay a counsellor a stipend of less than R3 000.
“How can we be expected to perform our duties diligently when the system is abusing us by not paying us on time?
“We sometimes receive stipends late,” said a councillor from eMbalenhle.
Some HIV/Aids patients at clinics were reported to have not received proper counselling on Monday morning, 2 December.
“We love to save people’s lives, but it is not fair that we are expected to volunteer forever,” said a counsellor from Bethal Hospital.
“It is not easy to wake up daily and save people on an empty stomach.
“We save lives by ensuring that patients do not default on their treatment, but no one is taking care of us,” said Ms Lizabeth Mahlangu who as been a counsellor for more than 13 years in eMbalenhle.
The counsellors are also worried about the advertisement of the department in October that called for proposals for non-profit organisation funding from next year to 2017.
They said they want the department to use the funds to pay them directly because they suspect some health officials and the organisations are benefiting financially at their expense.
One of the counsellors said on Thursday morning they decided to return to work because their task team members will meet with the department next week.
The department did not comment at the time of going to press.
