DENOSA statement read out at press conference on 8 May 2015 in Pretoria

Media Statements

DENOSA has concluded its mandate collection on the current wage offer by Government and the outcome as mandated by members is to accept the offer,

DENOSA National Student Movement rejects the release of student nurses to work as COVID-19 vaccinators

DENOSA North West Student Movement's reaction to the involvement of Student nurses into the vaccination programme

View all

DENOSA statement read out at press conference on 8 May 2015 in Pretoria

605 Stanza Bopape Street

Arcadia

Pretoria

DENOSA STATEMENT

Friday, 8 May 2015

As a background, DENOSA emerged from its successful 7^th National Congress in January 2015 which was a continuation of the congress that was adjourned on 1 November 2014, wherein a new leadership was elected with clear mandates on which to take the organisation forward. This organisation subscribes to the principles of democracy where all matters of the organization’s interest should be raised within formal structures and follow due processes where democratic centralism applies.

The leadership inherited discussions with different role-players including within the federation wherein our congress clearly resolved. The members entrusted the National Executive Committee (NEC), the organisation’s highest decision-making structure on day-to-day working of the organisation, to process the resolutions and ensure they are implemented as mandated.

DENOSA calls this media conference on the wake of a marathon of events happening and developing within and outside its structures with a potential to impact negatively. There are sporadic events and media utterances wherein DENOSA name is being used without authority. This is observed during promotion of meetings or activities where DENOSA doesn’t participate or is not invited but our logo is being portrayed as though we are part or agree with the content of the activity. Our stance is that we remain autonomous and engage willingly with whoever shares the same resolutions or mandates with us.

Some of the key resolutions we would like to highlight from our 7^th National Congress are that we:

- Support COSATU campaign in total ban of E-tolls

- Support COSATU campaign in total ban of labour brokers

- Support the reinstatement of NUMSA back to COSATU

- Reject and disassociate DENOSA from SAPSU and United Front

From the extracted resolutions above, it is obvious that our association with the so-termed nine COSATU unions is based on the fact that we are agreeable with the call for a Special National Congress of COSATU. Equally, there are matters that we don’t agree with them as articulated by the resolutions above.

We therefore would like to plead with those who recklessly attempt to interpret our resolutions wrongly or claim to represent this organisation in public platforms which seeks to undermine the leadership of this organisation. We call upon all our members not to express personal opinion, but stick to our 7^th National Congress resolutions.

The person who is speaking on behalf of the organisation on national matters is the President and Acting General Secretary, Simon Hlungwani and Madithapo Masemola, or any other person who is granted such a right in the absence of the President and the Acting General Secretary.

We view as imperative as we would like to focus on the matters of relevance to the organisation and its members, such as the International Nurses Day that is coming up on the 12^th of May where there is a need to highlight the essence of a nursing cadre and its role in the achievement of better health for the citizens, and the need to include them in policy formulations that deal with cost-effective measures of attaining better health for South Africans.

We also want to focus on the current wage negotiations and ensure that public servants, including nurses, receive a decent wage adjustment.

Nurses are the majority health professionals who are in touch with patients 24 hours, and are better positioned to come up with solutions to the health challenges. We have lined celebrations across provinces on the day and beyond, where we would be highlighting the challenges that nurse cadres are faced with, such as severe shortage and burn outs, lack of safety in the workplace, increasing burden of diseases, ageing nursing population with few replacements after their retirement.

As nursing organisation, we note the budget speech delivered by Heath Minister in Parliament. We are specifically in agreement with the focus on the TB campaign in and around mining areas, which are the most hard-hit due to dust generated from operations in mines.

We would like to end buy wishing nurses of the country, continent and the world a Happy International Nurses Day on Tuesday. We urge the nurses to keep the candle burning for their country needs them.