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DENOSA KZN not accepting provincial health department’s unilateral withdrawal of agreement with student nurses
Media statement
Wednesday, 07 September 2016
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) in KwaZulu-Natal is refusing to accept the mischievous act by the KZN Health Department of unilaterally withdrawing itself from the agreement it has entered into with student nurses in the province, by unilaterally issuing a circular last week (circular 54 of 2016) withdrawing all previous circulars that bind it to the existing agreement.
DENOSA calls on the department to formalize the circular and consult broadly with stakeholders first by next week, or else DENOSA will mobilise all students from all 12 campuses and pay the department a courtesy visit at its offices if it fails to do so.
The agreement between student nurses and the department is that the department is to take full responsibility for the employment of 300 students upon completion of their four-year course each year in the province or to absorb the close to 250 enrolled nurses the department has taken to bridging course into professional nurses this year. This agreement also applies to those nurses that do specialty courses, as well those who are bridging from being enrolled nursing assistants to enrolled nurses, and those bridging from being enrolled nurses to professional nurses.
The new circular, which was issued without consulting labour unions, states that the department will no longer offer students employment upon completion of their studies, and that they will sit at home at the end of this year and wait for job adverts to appear on papers and only apply when adverts are placed. DENOSA says, not so easy.
At the time when shortage of nurses is gross in the province, DENOSA finds this unilateral decision irresponsible and inconsiderate of the compromised quality of care that patients are currently subjected to in facilities as a result of severe shortage.
Students must not be the sacrificial lambs for the improper financial planning by the department’s HR. Vacancies are not coming out and now students are made to sit at home forever upon completion of their community service.
As if there is no shortage of nurses already, the circular says students are free to look for employment elsewhere, even in the private sector, whereas taxpayers’ money was used to enroll the students. Now the private sector must benefit from intake meant for public facilities?
What is worse, and which DENOSA takes great exception to, is that those lower category nurses who have completed their bridging courses to become professionals nurses are being used by managers to perform the work of professional nurses and yet they are not paid for that. DENOSA warns managers against such abusive practice and calls on those affected nurses to come forward and expose this brutal practice.
End
Issued by the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) in KwaZulu-Natal.
For more information, contact:
Mandla Shabangu, DENOSA Provincial Organiser, KZN
Mobile: 082 443 4170
Website: www.denosa.org.za
Facebook: DENOSA National Page
Twitter: @DENOSAORG
