13 March 2015 R1-20/FREE
Bela-Bela Hospital workers down tools Mashaba TK TK Mashaba Employees and Nehawu members at BelaBela Hospital downed their tools on Monday, 9 March, saying that the demands they presented to management during the recent protests have been ignored. The hospital staff left their jobs, leaving the hospital manned by only a skeleton staff. According to Nehawu chairperson Ananias Simango, the hospital has not responded to their demands in the memorandum, and he told The BEAT that Nehawu had discovered that some employees were still not being paid overtime. “We are fed up with the management of the hospital, and we demand a response from the district or provincial level,” he said. “Hospital CEO Ricardo Escobar was supposed to respond to us on Monday before noon, but he left without notifying us.” He told The BEAT that they have come to the conclusion that there is a total failure of the Human Resources Department at the hospital, which is contributing to the issues. “The situation will continue until our demands are met,” he said. “Our people will spend their working shifts chanting here.” The workers marched from the main hospital to the Maternity ward, before making their way to the entrance of the hospital. When Doctor Escobar returned to the hospital, his car was surrounded by chanting, singing protestors. Police vehicles were monitoring the situation. The hospital’s communication spokesperson Buti Moagi was not available for comment.
The protesters spent some time chanting their demands. Photo: TK Mashaba
We are fed - up with the management
Fat al accident near atal Radium
Police vehicles kept a watchful eye on the situation. Photo: TK Mashaba
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