KZN paramedics warned not to down tools after strike threat
- Published on 23 Jul 2015
- HR Pulse News Desk
The Department of Health has issued a stern warning to emergency medical services (EMS) staff in KwaZulu-Natal who threatened to embark on a wildcat strike on Wednesday.
Department spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi warned paramedics against downing tools, saying: “We have noted media reports on threats of a strike by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff. If these reports are true, the Department would like to remind EMS staff that their work is classified as essential services, which makes it illegal for them to embark on strike action.”
The SA Private Ambulance & Emergency Services Association (SAPAESA) also sent a warning to its members, alerting them to possible threats of violence. Sources within the state emergency service sector however said that the threat to strike - in response to the dismissal of nearly twenty paramedics after the last bout of strike action - was little more than posturing. An unnamed source within the EMS said: “It all relates to the OSD [Occupation Specific Dispensation] payments, and they want their fired comrades to get their jobs back.” The OSD is an allowance in line with experience and expertise, which some EMS staff insisted has never been paid by the Department of Health.
