We caution against reducing the weeks-long standoff between the two departments to a childish spat between hot-headed, grandstanding officials, or even to a case of one arm of the state neither knowing nor respecting what the other arm is mandated to do.
But last week’s development, which may still culminate in a legal battle before the courts, points to the enduring antipathy between comrades with starkly different agendas – those leading public sector unions and the managerialists overseeing the union members who work in organs of state.
A perspective on the concerns raised by hospital staff – even if they are bolstered by labour inspectors – is skewed by too many examples of self-serving bullyboy antics by the state unions.
And any assessment of the veracity of the hospital management’s claims that they properly dealt with the concerns of staff must be influenced by our history of mismanagement by countless other provincial government officials.
We also wonder why neither internal hospital procedures nor the intergovernmental dispute resolution mechanism was effectively used to mediate and reach a consensual agreement on the rights of patients and workers.
The public should have known sooner than the report in Saturday’s Dispatch that worker concerns had developed to the point that a major healthcare facility was about to be shut down.
Instead, everybody implicated in this state of affairs appears to have stood by silently as the dangerous closure of the hospital loomed – an event potentially more devastating even than the deadly viral outbreak the country is focused on managing.
If Mabuyane was kept in the loop, he must be held accountable for allowing a situation to develop to the point it was at by the time of our report. If he was not, he need to urgently discipline some officials.
OPINION | Shocking for Frere crisis to reach that level
We welcome Saturday night’s agreement between Premier Oscar Mabuyane and national minister of employment & labour Thulas Nxesi, which temporarily averted the shutdown of Frere Hospital on a prohibition notice issued by labour’s occupational health & safety inspectors.
Labour officials will conduct a follow-up inspection to verify a report by health officials that many issues of protective measures for health workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to last Tuesday’s notice, have been properly resolved.
We assume labour and health share a commitment to effective implementation of all the policies of the democratic government that appointed them to serve the people of SA.
We caution against reducing the weeks-long standoff between the two departments to a childish spat between hot-headed, grandstanding officials, or even to a case of one arm of the state neither knowing nor respecting what the other arm is mandated to do.
But last week’s development, which may still culminate in a legal battle before the courts, points to the enduring antipathy between comrades with starkly different agendas – those leading public sector unions and the managerialists overseeing the union members who work in organs of state.
A perspective on the concerns raised by hospital staff – even if they are bolstered by labour inspectors – is skewed by too many examples of self-serving bullyboy antics by the state unions.
And any assessment of the veracity of the hospital management’s claims that they properly dealt with the concerns of staff must be influenced by our history of mismanagement by countless other provincial government officials.
We also wonder why neither internal hospital procedures nor the intergovernmental dispute resolution mechanism was effectively used to mediate and reach a consensual agreement on the rights of patients and workers.
The public should have known sooner than the report in Saturday’s Dispatch that worker concerns had developed to the point that a major healthcare facility was about to be shut down.
Instead, everybody implicated in this state of affairs appears to have stood by silently as the dangerous closure of the hospital loomed – an event potentially more devastating even than the deadly viral outbreak the country is focused on managing.
If Mabuyane was kept in the loop, he must be held accountable for allowing a situation to develop to the point it was at by the time of our report. If he was not, he need to urgently discipline some officials.
Call to inspect more hospitals after closure of Frere
In the public interest, most of our coronavirus news isn’t behind our paywall, and is free to read. To support our mission of delivering award-winning, independent local news, subscribe from as little as R45 per month by clicking here.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos