You are invited to attend a
Hearing in the High Court of South Africa
Gauteng Division, Pretoria

Case No: 78454/2016

On 2 November 2017
at 10h00

Court A – 8

In the matter between
National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers on behalf of Members (Applicant)
And
The Member of the Executive Council for Health Gauteng Province (First Respondent)
Head of Department for the Department of Health: Gauteng Province (Second Respondent)
The Department of Health Gauteng Province (Third Respondent)
SmartPurse Solutions (Pty) Ltd (Fourth Respondent)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The trade union NUPSAW failed to understand why the Gauteng Department of Health is so reluctant to contract or employ all Community Health Workers and back pay their salaries.

As early as June 2016 the Union started a process of negotiations with the Office of the Deputy Director General (DDG) of the National Department of Health in Pretoria regarding outsourcing to the controversial company SmartPurse the payment of monthly stipends to CHWs

The R4000 stipend that some of these workers received has since then decreased from R4000 to R2500 due to costs unbeknown.
This means that CHWs who have not been registered with SmartPurse and do not get paid for their work and many of those who did sign with SmartPurse have also not been paid on time because of the company’s inefficiency.
The CHWs have the right to be treated and being paid as all other government employees and not to be exploited by the Government’s pals.
In 2016 a tender worth R87 099 481 was awarded to controversial SmartPurse Solutions (Pty) Ltd for three years. The Department’s Spokesperson back then stated that the company would, among others, procure and install biometric devices at health facilities, develop community health worker monitoring software, validate and verify workers and pay salaries to workers. 

The GDoH has over the years, refused to recognize CHWs, whose scope of work includes providing health education, care and support services to individuals, households and/or groups, linking households and health facilities as well as HIV counselling and testing, ARV treatment adherence and ARVs and TB patient tracing. The workers are also in constant danger of occupational infection and must also be granted a Danger Allowance and protective clothing

NUPSAW view this blatant ignorance as an attack and an insult to those members who have, for the past four years, not seen an increase in salaries and who had to bear the brunt for the department’s financial mismanagement.

NUPSAW, therefore, opposes the outsourcing of payment of stipends as an unnecessary expenditure and demands that the money should be allocated to salary increases for CHWs.

The Community Health Workers demand

1. To be contracted by Gauteng Department of Health, not by SmartPurse

2. All workers who are not yet contracted to be contracted with immediate effect

3. The back payments of those verified at the end of September 2017

4. Employees to retain their position and accompanying salary Site Coordinators were earning R4000.
With SmartPurse it has decreased to the amount of R2500.00

5. Occupational Health and Safety Committees at the workplace.

6. Payments of stipends directly into workers bank accounts.

7. Facilitate managers to stop harassing Community Health Workers as well as Team Leaders and to stop terminating CHW’s contracts without any valid reason.

8. Full compliance of leave in terms of Basic Condition of Employment Act.


For more Information:
Solly Malema, National Organiser
Cell 082 323 2958

Send by Media Officer
Thariza Steyn
082 455 2215
012 342 1674
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The National Union of Public and Allied Workers represent the Community Health Facilitators, the Community Health Workers (CHW’s), Lay Counsellors, Drivers, Securities, Clerks and General Orderlies in the Gauteng Province.
NUPSAW is affiliated to SAFTU