The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) held a Special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at the organisation’s head offices in Pretoria between 14 and 16 August 2024, where both organisational and nursing issues were discussed over the three days that ended on Friday.
On the nurses’ uniform in the public sector:
Following the organisation’s statement, which was released on 28 June 2024, about the state of readiness of the Department to supply nurses with the uniform like the police, correctional services and military, the employer indicated that it won’t be able to meet and deliver on the deadline of 1 September 2024. This came as no surprise as our assessment pointed out that the employer will again not be able to deliver the uniform for the nurses. The Employer was in the same situation last year, hence DENOSA demanded the progress report in June 2024.
The employer has proposed to continue paying the Uniform Allowance instead of supplying the uniform. While it is clear that this year, there is no other option, DENOSA rejects this perpetual payment of the allowance instead of the provision of decent uniform. The Department of Health is paying the nurses a once-off amount that is just over R3000 to buy the uniform, which is too little to buy uniform.
DENOSA’s investigation shows that, with that amount, a nurse can hardly afford to get one set of uniform. For a nurse to buy a proper uniform for the whole week, they need an amount between R8 500 and R14 000. We have no doubt that the non-supply of the nurses with uniform is a deliberate action, as the department is saving a lot of money at the cost and dire situation of the nurses. This is manipulation and playing with the emotions of the nurses knowing that they are desperate for any amount that comes their way.
For too long the nurses have been made to subsidize the government as they are using their petty salaries in buying the uniform that is supposed to be supplied by the employer. Nurses are faced with financial difficulties because their meagre salaries are buying items they should not buy, ordinarily.
DENOSA is neither moved nor excited by the once-off small amount of R3 200 that the Department is committing to pay nurses on or before 30 November 2024. DENOSA remains resolute and reiterates that the department must supply nurses with the uniform to restore the image and dignity of the nursing profession. DENOSA is demanding the centralized supply of the nurses’ uniform in the same manner it is done for personnel in emergency medical, correctional, police and military services. If the government can effectively supply the uniform to the mentioned services, the same can be done easily for the nurses as well.
While the decision to decentralize the procurement of the nurses uniform was taken by the National Health Council, DENOSA is of the view that this decentralization will only create a fertile ground for looting and corruption by the officials. Failure by the department to heed the call by DENOSA of provision of uniform to the nurses, the nurses will embark on a campaign demanding the decent and proper uniform supply until it is delivered.
On the upcoming public sector wage negotiations.
The Special NEC meeting received mandate reports from provincial structures in preparation for the upcoming public sector wage negotiations. This has been communicated to COSATU’s Joint Mandating Committee (JMC), which will now consolidate all COSATU union’s demands into one for further consolidation with the Independent Labour Caucus to formulate a single set of demands from labour to the employer. DENOSA will respect this process and has therefore taken a conscious decision to allow it to run its course.