By Anita Dangazele
- Nurses say the health department has not paid them overtime in five months and promised to strike until a payment date is confirmed.
- The strike adds more strain on Nelson Mandela Bay’s struggling health system, with clinics in Motherwell and Kariega also hit by staff shortages.
Doctors at Dora Nginza Hospital in Gqeberha have been forced to step into nursing roles as staff downed tools this week over unpaid overtime.
Nurses say the Eastern Cape Department of Health has not paid them for five months of extra shifts. They were promised payment in August, but when payslips came through on Monday without overtime reflected, workers gathered in an emergency meeting and decided to strike.
Patients at the hospital were told that doctors would handle their care until the department confirmed a date for the payments.
Regional chair of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union, Tebogo Goniwe, accused management of undermining nurses.
“They only paid doctors! This means that our work here is not important. Therefore, those doctors must be the ones taking care of patients.
“We are not fighting with the patients, but these workers are struggling. They have debts and other expenses to take care of, they cannot continue to work extra hours without being paid,” he said.
Department spokesperson Siyanda Manana confirmed that negotiations were ongoing but would not give a date for payment.
“The memorandum is going through an internal validation process but the payments will be made,” he said.
The strike has raised concerns about Nelson Mandela Bay’s already pressured health system. In Motherwell, residents staged a protest outside NU2 clinic over staff shortages. Meanwhile, the Rosedale clinic in Kariega has been closed for two months due to crime in the area.
Patients and residents say they feel abandoned as delays, staff shortages and shutdowns continue to disrupt healthcare across the metro.
Pictured above: Dora Nginza Hospital in Gqeberha.
Image source: Anita Dangazele
