Management at Sebokeng Hospital in the Vaal is on a witch hunt for employees it accuses of lifting the lid on unsafe working conditions at the facility.
Sowetan understands that an employee, a union shop steward, was suspended on Friday following Sowetan’s exposé.
According to Nehawu regional secretary Simamkele Takane, they received the letter from the acting CEO Dr Peter Motlhaoleng’s office. “They did not call us for a meeting [but] he [the employee] is being accused of calling Sowetan and having taken Sowetan through the hospital to expose whatever they are complaining about,” he said.
“I’ve not received the full details. I did get the letter informing us that they intend to discipline the shop steward. But the normal process would be the employee calling us so that we get clarity. That has not happened.”
Takane added that the hospital had a history of shop stewards being suspended without evidence. He said they have written to the hospital to ask why they suspended the employee and were waiting for a response.
In the letter seen by Sowetan, Motlhaoleng wrote: “This letter serves to inform your office of [the] management’s intention to precautionary suspend Mr K Mjeza, a shop steward representing your union [Nehawu], pending allegations of misconduct.
“The precautionary suspension will be effective immediately, in accordance with PSCBC [Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council] resolution 1 of 2003 and the code of good practice on dismissal.”
The Gauteng health department confirmed the employee’s suspension but did not elaborate further.
Asked if the suspension will not discourage workers who want to raise concerns about their workplace conditions, the department, instead, said: “We cannot provide additional details as this is an employer-employee matter.”
Last week, kitchen staff downed tools in protest against the working environment, forcing Motlhaoleng and his team of managers to roll up their sleeves and help prepare food for patients, while the kitchen staff watched.
The action follows months of complaining about working in an unsafe environment in which the workers claimed they were forced to serve patients food that had reached its sell-by date.
They allege that over the past few months, they’ve had to prepare meals using spices, sauces, and vinegar that had expired. They claimed to have repeatedly complained to management but were told to do their work and continue using the expired ingredients.
The staff also showed Sowetan videos of the kitchen leaking in several places but said it was patched following heavy rainfall.
Motlhaoleng told Sowetan he was not aware of the videos and that the kitchen was undergoing refurbishment to address infrastructure challenges.
He said allegations about expired food were unfounded.
Sowetan
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