Pharmacists reject wage offer
The KZN Concerned Pharmacists Forum has threatened to take the trade unions representing its members to court if they sign the Department of Health’s latest wage offer that pharmacists have unanimously rejected.
This emerged at a meeting where the forum was officially launched on Saturday and after which 150 pharmacists from around the province faxed letters agreeing to establish a trade union exclusively for pharmacists.
The country’s 1 500 public sector pharmacists are represented by four unions: the Public Servants Association (PSA), the Health and Other Service Personnel Trade Union of SA (Hospersa), the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) and the National Union of Public Servants and Allied Workers (Nupsaw).
Forum spokesman Ismail Ballim said the forum had sent mandates to the unions rejecting the department’s latest occupation specific dispensation wage proposal, which amounted to an increase of around 4 percent or R400 without addressing working conditions.
However, apart from the PSA, pharmacists had been left “in the dark” by unions after trying in vain for the past two weeks to communicate with their representatives.
Ballim said 300 signatures rejecting the occupational specific dispensation proposal had been faxed to the unions.
“They are not answering their phones and are not willing to provide information. We have sought legal advice from labour lawyers and if the unions go ahead and sign we are willing to take them to court.
“We get such bad support from these unions and are looking to form our own union so that we have one voice.”
Ballim said pharmacists hoped the department and unions could re-negotiate the proposal and wanted a pharmacist to represent them at the bargaining chamber as they presently did not have a colleague who understood their demands representing them.
Ballim said pharmacists also felt “neglected” by the department and would like a task team set up to investigate staffing issues and working conditions.
He said pharmacists had sent SMSes to Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo in an effort to alert him to their unhappiness with working conditions, which had also been highlighted in their memorandum to the unions.
“We are exposed to all these (sick) patients and pick up diseases like TB and yet we are treated like we are worthless. The MEC has not paid much attention to pharmacists to find out what is wrong. It’s a provincial problem where we are short-staffed and do not have enough equipment,” Ballim said.
Dhlomo said pharmacists should write to him to request a meeting.
“It’s unprofessional to send an SMS and to expect a response from me. I have not received anything formal from them except for one letter from Prince Mshiyeni Hospital from a pharmacist‘s assistant,” Dhlomo said.
Hospersa spokesman Lucas Mahlake said the union’s national office had received the pharmacists‘ mandate and would not be signing the proposal.
“Our provincial office talks to members on the ground,” Mahlake said.
Nupsaw provincial treasurer Siphiwe Gumbi said the union was not going to sign the proposal and all its registered members had been updated via SMS.
Nehawu provincial secretary Zola Saphetha said the union’s estimated 220 pharmacists in all provinces “seemed to be accepting the proposal” although there were issues relating to the practical implementation of the proposal and the way increases would be implemented that needed “tidying up” before the agreement could be signed.
He said the union had communicated with members telephonically and via email and had convened a meeting with about 300 pharmacists on July 15.
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- This article was originally published on page 5 of Daily News on August 03, 2009
August 5th, 2009 at 11:02 am
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