The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] welcomes the Labour Court order enforcing the reinstatement of 24 members of the union, who were dismissed by the Department of Water and Sanitation following the 2018 strike. In March 2018, as NEHAWU, we embarked on a strike action across all workplaces of the Department of Water and Sanitation after failed negotiations. A few days into that strike, a settlement agreement was reached in favour of our members and workers in general.

The settlement agreement signed by the union and the department agreed on the cessation of hostilities, reinstatement of 24 workers who were dismissed as a result of participating in the strike. After having signed the settlement agreed, the department totally disregarded the settlement agreement and refused to reinstate the dismissed workers, which left the union with no other option except approaching the court. As NEHAWU, we filed a dispute to Labour Court for an enforcement of the settlement agreement directing that all 24 workers that were dismissed by the Department of Water and Sanitation be reinstated.

The matter was set down for the 07th February 2024 in the Labour Court and the court granted an order reinstating the employees. Indeed, the union welcomes this court order as it protect workers from employers who abuse their powers by disrespecting signed settlement agreements. This victory is as a result of the hard work put in by the union a spear and shield of its members at the workplace. Lastly, we call on the Department of Water and Sanitation to immediately reinstate our members as per the settlement agreement without any delay.