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People's Health Movement SA - Statement on the Public Sector Strike

People's Health Movement - Statement on the Public Sector Strike


The South African Chapter of People's Health Movement(PHM SA)* supports the demands of public sector workers for a wage increase of 8,6 percent and a housing allowance of R1000. We call on the government to meet these demands, and to negotiate openly and honestly with the workers' representative in an atmosphere of mutual respect.


The strike comes in the wake of almost 2 decades of severe restrictions in public spending, which have resulted in an escalating crisis in the public health sector due to critical staff shortages, crumbling infrastructure, and persistent inequality of access.


This dysfunctional health system has to cope with one of the largest disease burdens in the world, with a shrinking life expectancy and an increase in the number of children who die before their 5th birthday.


This massive burden of disease is underpinned by lack of progress towards the implementation of the social and economic rights enshrined in the constitution, and poverty and inequality as a result of neoliberal macroeconomic policies, corruption and maldistribution of national resources. The lack of sufficient adequate health workers also has an impact on the sector, with the shortage of health workers at an estimated 80 000.


Doctors, nurses and other health workers work under unbearable conditions. They put their own lives at risk when they provide services for patients with dangerous infections such as multi and extreme drug resistant TB, HIV/AIDS, and other infections in overcrowded health facilities. Their stress is amplified by the fact that in many institutions it is not possible to guarantee patient safety because of bed shortages, crowding and inadequate facilities for infection control. These concerns need to be addressed to ensure that health care workers are able to play their role in realizing the health rights of those who seek care from government hospitals.


While PHM-SA strongly supports workers' demands, we object to some of their infringements of patients' rights and their safety. In particular we call on strikers not to do anything that puts patient lives and safety at risk and to ensure access to health services of TB and HIV positive patients requiring access, as well as of others requiring essential treatment and pregnant women requiring emergency care.. We also note and thank the many volunteers for assisting and ensuring a basic health service is provided to those most in need during this strike period.


Spending on health remains far below the target of 15% of GDP in the Abuja Declaration to which South Africa re-affirmed its commitment recently.For the above reasons, we urge rapid finalisation of a minimum service agreement which would enable health workers to undertake industrial action without endangering the health and lives of patients. Ignoring the conditions of health workers will not help to solve the massive problems facing our health sector. If we are to be in a position to implement a national health insurance, we need to have a fairly paid, well-motivated, skilled and committed human resource base on which to affect health system reform.


*The Peoples Health Movement (PHM) is a large global civil society network of health activists supportive of the WHO policy of Health for All and organised to combat the economic and political causes of deepening inequalities in health worldwide and revitalise the implementation of WHO’s strategy of Primary Health Care.


49 Arnold Street Observatory
Cape Town, 7925, South Africa
Tel: +27 447 2024
Email: coordinator@phmsouthafrica.org Website: www.phmsouthafrica.org

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