Funeral industry strike set to continue

It will be the second day of a 3-day strike.

The shutdown comes after the government failed to respond to the sector’s list of demands, which include concern over corruption in the industry.

National Funeral Practitioners Association of South Africa president Muzi Hlengwa says they are waiting for Department of Home Affairs and Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to agree on the sector's demands.

Hlengwa says there has been a quick response from the Health Department as the strike is overwhelming mortuaries.

"Government mortuaries were overwhelmed with the number of bodies that they received yesterday and it has pressed the department of health to come up with answers on the same day of the strike.

They have  agreed to all our demands including that certificates of competence should not be used as a prerequisite when collecting the body anywhere and small companies should be allowed to come together and share the certificates of competence, and that outsourcing of storage should be allowed.”

LISTEN TO MUZI HLENGWA HERE:

They are also demanding that the Department of Home Affairs allow undertakers, who don’t own a certificate of competence, to write the exams.

"Our strike has always been peaceful, we don't use violence, but we will make sure that we use a stronger voice than what we had yesterday. We had a very good strike across the country without any violence," says Hlengwa.

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