Crucial medical supplies destroyed allegedly by striking Tshepong Hospital staff. Image: Facebook
Health workers at the Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp have embarked an unprotected strike over bonuses and reportedly vandalised facilities.
Services at two North West Province hospitals have been disrupted and staff members apparently vandalised various wards. At the same time, doctors, nurses, record clerks and porters are accused of neglecting their duties including ignoring patients requiring assistance after surgery.
Health-e News was told how kitchen staff walked out leaving patients hungry and those who wanted to work say they have been intimidated by strikers at both Tshepong and Klerksdorp state hospitals.
North West taxi drivers pay for PPE out of their own pockets
A provincial taxi rank in the North West (Health-e News)
With passengers set to increase dramatically during the festive season amid a second wave of Covid-19 infections, taxi drivers complain that the owners are not buying sanitisers or PPE.
The pandemic has already made life harder for taxi drivers. Yet, if they want to keep working, drivers in the North West have to dig into their own profits to buy the legally required personal protective equipment (PPE).
A second wave of Covid-19 infections is sweeping over the country, just as South Africans prepare to travel for the festive season. Government has introduced stricter regulations this week, which require all make companies and business operators responsible for ensuring customers comply with regulations. That includes taxi drivers, who already earn low wages and lack support from their industry.