Work until you drop, strikers say

2010-09-03 09:13

Sonja van Buul, Beeld

Johannesburg - Striking civil servants are now camping out in front of the gates of the Kopanong hospital in Vereeniging to prevent nursing staff who are working there from going home after their shifts.

"We are forcing non-strikers to now work until they can't anymore, because that's what they wanted," said Matoditodi Modise, acting Sedibeng regional chairperson of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) on Thursday afternoon.

About 300 striking civil servants continued striking at the Sebokeng hospital on Thursday morning, but they later went to the Kopanong hospital after Modise spoke to them and told them: "Only now has the strike begun."

He encouraged the strikers to follow him to Kopanong hospital in large numbers to "do something real" and not just sing and toyi-toyi.

Their choice to stop working

According to Modise, the strikers were willing to keep vigil through the night at the hospital gates. "We will stay here for as long as it takes to force them. They made the choice to work.

"We will wait at the hospital gates for the workers who have had enough and tell them it is their choice to stop working now, but they must not come back before government has met our demands."

Modise added that they would approach the non-strikers "aggressively, but not harm them".

According to him, strikers have been blamed for deaths and patients who were sent home because they were not being cared for due to the strike.

"It is not due to the staff shortage that people are dying in this state hospital during the strike. About 70% of the Kopanong hospital's nursing staff are still working. The nurses who are not taking part in the strike are just not doing their jobs and hanging around."

He said these nurses stole the government's money for salaries and overtime.

- Beeld