WFTU TRADE UNION
INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE & ALLIED (TUI-PS&A) SOLIDARITY STATEMENT WITH
THE LESOTHO NURSES ASSOCITION
Tuesday,
23 March, 2021
“Workers of the
world unite you have nothing to lose but your chains”
The World Federation
of Trade Unions [WFTU] Trade Union International Public Services and Allied
[TUI PS & A], a class oriented union representing more than 30 million
members around the world, and the National Education Health and Allied Workers
Union (NEHAWU),met with Lesotho Nurses Association (LNA) and Coalition of
Health Professionals Association. We met to listen to the plight of the dismissal
of health workers, and to pledge our solidarity with these workers at a time when
they are at the forefront of fighting COVID 19 pandemic.
WFTU-TUI-PS&A is
dismayed by the action of the government of Lesotho through the Department of
Health, together with NETCARE Healthcare Groupin dismissing more than 300
nurses at the Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH).
This happened after nurses
and nursing assistants embarked onto a go-slow on 1 February 2021 to press the
government,NETCARE and QMMHto award them salary increments to match their
counterparts in other government and private institutions.
Thisis also
happening under extremely challenging circumstances that nurses have been
subjected to due to COVID 19, such as insufficient and inadequate protective
personal equipment, hospital bed shortages, limited staff and long working hours.
Nurses need to be in hospitals and not in the street.
WFTU-TUI-PS&A
rejects these neoliberal policies of the government of Lesotho working with
private sector and monopolies to maximize profits at the expense of workers and
the people of Lesotho through privatisation of public health through
unscrupulous public private partnerships (PPP), which leave majority of the
poor with no access to health.
We therefore demand:
·
Immediate reinstatement of all workers that
were dismissed with better working conditions and decent wages
·
We demand that these workers be afforded
their rights to, collective bargaining, health, education, safety and proper
housing.
We call upon all
workers in Lesotho to unite and pledge their solidarity with the dismissed
health workers.
WFTU-TUI-PS&A appeals
to all workers in the world through their unions and federation to send
messages of protest and solidarity with the health workers in Lesotho during
these difficult times. Protest messages should be sent to NETCARE General
Manager @ zondy.mohapi@netcare.co.za;
government of Lesotho @ lerotholi.pheko@gov.ls;
ministry of health @ sekatlesemano@gmail.com; and copied
to General Secretary of LNA @ lesothonursesassociation@gmail.com;
WFTU-TUI-PS&A @ clever@nehawu.org.za;
Issued
by: Zola Saphetha, General Secretary,WFTU-TUI-PS&A
For
media enquiries: Clever Banganayi (Information & Publicity officer) +27721426625,
clever@nehawu.org.za
