Africa-Press – South-Africa. Seven people have been arrested and charged with public violence as the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) nationwide strike continues.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said that one person was arrested in Galeshewe in the Northern Cape for throwing faeces at the entrance of the home affairs offices. A case of malicious damage to property was registered.
In the Free State, three people were arrested at Pelonomi Hospital for blocking the main entrance to the hospital. All three were charged with public violence.
Mathe said three women were arrested for public violence in North West after they were found burning tyres.
Mathe said police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse protestors at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital on Thursday morning after they blocked the main entrance and roads leading to the hospital.
“[There is increased] police visibility to ensure citizens have access to healthcare services in light of the Nehawu strike. The Public Order Police unit are monitoring and there is high visibility in all affected areas,” Mathe said.
The public sector strike entered its fourth day on Thursday. Some Gauteng hospitals experienced a “total shutdown”, and some striking workers ordered staff to leave their posts.
Nehawu and several other public servant unions have been locked in a wage dispute with the government.
Health Minister Joe Phaahla, who visited Charlotte Maxeke Hospital on Thursday, confirmed that four people had died during the ongoing protest.
On Wednesday night, the Gauteng Department of Health obtained a court interdict preventing Nehawu members from obstructing health services in the province.
In the Western Cape, the provincial health department was preparing to approach the courts for an urgent interdict after healthcare workers belonging to Nehawu disrupted essential services and blocked ambulances from accessing facilities.
The provincial health department said that since the start of the week there had been several incidents – mostly in the Khayelitsha area – resulting in disruption of services.
The department’s spokesperson Mark van der Heever said protest action took place at Michael Mapongwana Clinic and Khayelitsha District Hospital.
“Although the buildings are not damaged, the protest has resulted in the transferring of critical patients to other facilities, such as Helderberg, Tygerberg, Mitchells Plain and Karl Bremer hospitals,” he said.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, protesters disrupted services and blocked staff from entering Khayelitsha District Hospital.
“We have had peaceful protests at Karl Bremer and Tygerberg hospitals. The only disruption came about at Karl Bremer on Wednesday afternoon when they had to close the gates temporarily, but service delivery was not interrupted,” he said.
On Thursday, services resumed with no patient diversions in place, although there were still protesters outside Khayelitsha District Hospital and Michael Mapongwana Clinic.
Van der Heever said there were plans in place to ensure services continue.
“We strongly condemn any action that affects the safety of our patients and staff and the infringement of our clients’ human rights to access healthcare services. The departments of health and wellness and social development are preparing for an urgent application to interdict Nehawu’s illegal strike action,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gauteng Human Settlements and Infrastructure Development MEC Lebogang Maile has warned that patients in public health facilities were at high risk in cases of any equipment failure.
This follows reports that the maintenance teams had been denied access to a number of facilities because of the protests.
The maintenance teams are responsible for critical public healthcare equipment such as boilers and autoclaves, that are used for sterilising theatre equipment, and the central cooling system used to control the temperature in theatres and the hospital.
“The strike has forced us to be vigilant and apply extra measures to counter any acts of sabotage in all our facilities. We are doing our level best in order to avoid any tragic eventuality that may occur,” Maile said.
“The risk is extremely high for patients. We urge protesters to exercise their hard-earned right to strike within the confines of the law and picketing rules.”
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