Charlotte Maxeke violence: This cannot be the new normal
The South African Medical
Association (SAMA) has hit out at the protesters who shut down Charlotte Maxeke
Hospital in Johannesburg on Thursday.
Workers from the National Health Education & Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) went on the rampage at the state hospital, preventing patients from entering the facility and emptying trash cans on the floors.
Workers accuse the Gauteng Department of Health of failing to pay performance bonuses. They are also unhappy about the pace of wage negotiations.
SAMA's Professor Mark Sonderup says they understand the frustration of health care workers when their concerns are not being addressed.
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"However, we cannot stand by and condone the behaviour that we witnessed yesterday of care workers actually shutting down a hospital.
"This cannot be a new normal, we should not accept it, it should be tolerated and there should be consequences for action," Sonderup says.
He says the situation needs to be resolved as soon as possible in order to avoid a situation similar to the one in North West, where striking Nehawu workers shut down hospitals for weeks on end.