• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Reporting South Africa Reporting South Africa
Reporting South Africa Reporting South Africa
  • Featured News
  • Nation
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Environment
    • Education
  • Art & Culture
    • Food
    • Art
    • Music
    • Fashion
  • Religion
  • Health & Science
    • Public Health
  • Our Student Journalists
    • Spring 2020
      • Ainsley Ash
      • Ayinde Summey
      • Elizabeth Stricklin
      • Laura Peterjohn
      • Renny Simone
      • Skylar Thoma
    • Fall 2019
      • Maggie Connolly
      • Kimberly Wipfler
      • Jamaica Ponder
      • Claudia Stagoff-Belfort
    • Spring 2019
      • Desi LaPoole
      • Kamal Morgan
      • Luke Riley
    • Fall 2018
      • Corey D. Smith
      • Francine Barchett
      • Natalie Elliott
      • Saam Niami Jalinous
    • Spring 2018
      • Kamilah Tom
      • Rebecca Redelmeier
      • Serena Hawkey
        • How circus school saved me from drugs and gangs
      • Hannah Green
      • Madeline Harvey
      • Jacqueline Flynn
    • Fall 2017
      • Mandela Namaste
      • Olivia Decelles
      • Samuel Gohn
      • Aisha Hauser
      • Samantha Tafoya
    • Spring 2017
      • Emily Rizzo
      • Arin Kerstein
      • Alexa Cole
      • Sealy McMurrey
  • Alumni

Nurses’ union threatens strike unless Ramaphosa meets demands

April 22, 2020 By Renny Simone

By Renny Simone

MAIN PHOTO: A frame from a video that has been widely circulated on social media, apparently showing police action against nurses demanding PPE equipment. Source: Twitter @MichaelSun168

Some South African nurses are threatening to stay home from work unless the government meets their demands for, among other things, increased compensation and more protective equipment by 1 May.

The Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union (YNITU), which represents nurses and other healthcare workers, made the strike threat on Wednesday in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s latest address to the nation. Ramaphosa’s Tuesday-evening speech outlined a R500 billion relief package designed to alleviate the economic crisis posed by coronavirus. But YNITU believes that not enough is being done for healthcare workers.

“[YNITU] couldn’t stomach President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation that once again failed to address the plight of those who are battling the Covid-19 pandemic in the frontline”, the union said in a media statement.

In addition to longstanding concerns about a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in South Africa’s hospitals, the union believes that nurses should receive greater compensation for the work they are doing.

“The least the government could do is give nurses an income tax break or a Covid-19 danger allowance in these trying times”, the statement said.

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), with which YNITU is aligned, supported the demands in a media release that was generally critical of Ramaphosa’s address.

But the South African Department of Health has warned that a nurses’ strike would be a criminal offense, reported News24. 

“The Ministry of Health implores every health worker to contribute in the fight against this pandemic,” Popo Maja, spokesman for the Department of Health, told the outlet. 

Another union representing nurses, the Democratic Nursing Organization of South Africa (Denosa), has also criticised the government’s position on nurses. A member of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), from which SAFTU split in 2017, Denosa has not called for a strike. But comments from Secretary-General Cassim Lekhoathi express similar disappointments to those raised in the YNITU statement.

“The frustration comes because in April there was supposed to be a salary increase, but [the] government has basically said they don’t have the money to do it,” Lekhoathi told The South African website. 

“It was a slap in the face of nurses,” Lekhoathi continued.

The strike threat has generated significant debate on social media. #CovidNurseStayAway has been tweeted over 10,000 times since YNITU tweeted the initial statement, and the hashtag spent hours as the top-trending in South Africa on Wednesday, according to trends24.

Some South Africans had harsh words for the nurses threatening to strike.

“This Hashtag is just pure arrogance,” one user tweeted. “[I’m] afraid for patients that are being treated by nurses with this mentality”.

This Hashtag is just pure arrogance.
Imagine earning a salary and complaining that someone that is starving is recieving R350.
Im afraid for patients that are being treated by nurses with this mentality. Its worrying. Wherr is the passion to serve patients

#CovidNurseStayAway pic.twitter.com/komFKTiEjM

— Motho (@MothoJordan) April 22, 2020

“This hashtag tells me a lot about how many people didn’t know what becoming a nurse was all about,” said another.

https://twitter.com/EarlyKrish/status/1252934701280645120

Others are expressing solidarity.

“I stand with our nurses, They are the Most over worked and disrespected civil servants,” one user wrote.

I stand with our Nurses, They are the Most over worked and disrepected civil servants. Even the Public gives them attitude on daily basis and they are expected to stay Proffesional. Tell me one Public Hospital/Clinic that is not understaff #CovidNurseStayAway

— Lerato Pillay (@uLerato_pillay) April 22, 2020

President Ramaphosa is due to address the nation again on Thursday evening. The speech is set to focus on the government’s plan to ease lockdown restrictions, according to TimesLive.

Renny Simone

Primary Sidebar

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Photo of the Day, 14 February 2020

The Mzamba bridge hangs across Mzamba river in the Eastern Cape. Completed in 2015, the … [Read More...] about Photo of the Day, 14 February 2020

Photo of the Day, 13 February 2020

This painting of a black woman in an upscale restaurant in Durban's Florida Rd shows the stark … [Read More...] about Photo of the Day, 13 February 2020

Photo of the Day, 13 February 2020

An inspirational poster of Nelson Mandela sits alongside two Bibles in the entrance of the iCare … [Read More...] about Photo of the Day, 13 February 2020

Photo of the Day, 12 February 2020

A pile of quarried lime in one of multiple informal markets located at Warwick Junction, Durban, … [Read More...] about Photo of the Day, 12 February 2020

Photo of the Day, 11 February 2020

Buses arrive at the transportation port near Warwick Juncture. Commuters arriving at this bus and … [Read More...] about Photo of the Day, 11 February 2020

Photo of the Day, 10 February 2020

Traders have their wares on display at the Warwick Junction Markets. With thousands of informal … [Read More...] about Photo of the Day, 10 February 2020

The Program

Reporting South Africa is produced by US college and university students on an SIT Study Abroad program called “South Africa: Social and Political Transformation”. They are mentored by veteran journalists in a program applying technology and global consciousness to produce high-impact journalism on vital social issues.

Reporting South Africa strives to be a reliable resource for news and information about South Africa.

Learn More

SIT Logo

A pioneer in experiential, field-based study abroad, SIT (founded as the School for International Training) provides more than 60 semester and summer programs for undergraduate students in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as comparative programs in multiple locations.

South Africa: Social and Political Transformation is a program of SIT Study Abroad.

FOLLOW REPORTING SOUTH AFRICA

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • The World Learning Inc. Family:
  • experiment.org
  • https://studyabroad.sit.edu
  • worldlearning.org

Footer

  • Academics
  • Admissions
  • Apply
  • Alumni
  • Alumni Connect
  • Give
  • Media Center
  • Request Info
  • SIT Stories
  • School for International Training

    1 Kipling Road • Brattleboro, VT 05302 • 802 257-7751 • 800 257-7751 (toll-free in the US)
    SIT is a private nonprofit institution of higher education.

  • Explore SIT Graduate Institute

    © Copyright World Learning, Inc.