The dead must wait as KZN mortuary workers go on strike

Striking workers at the Magwaza Maphalala Street mortuary in Durban were given an ultimatum on Thursday: return to work of face dismissal.

The KZN health department previously obtained a court order preventing mortuary workers from striking, and said on Thursday that it doesn't "want things to get to a point where we enforce that court order".

"However, if the situation does not change, we will be left with no option," said health MEC Nongugu Simelane-Zulu. "If people don’t do their work in such a sensitive environment, then they will be charged accordingly.”

She said the strike had affected the completion of autopsies and caused uncertainty for families.

"The illegal strike has resulted in delays to the completion of six autopsies that were due today [Thursday]. Three out of nine were completed. It is believed that the workers are unhappy about the return of a manager who was previously in charge of the facility," said Simelane-Zulu.

She said the grievance against the manager was unknown, and apologised to families who had been affected.

"Firstly, we would like to apologise to all the families who are now anxious about whether they will be able to bury their loved ones due to the delay caused by the illegal strike. We have activated our contingency measures that will ensure that there is minimum disruption to service delivery," said Simelane-Zulu.

"We cannot be held to ransom in this manner when families are grieving and urgently need to bury their loved ones, having lost them due to sudden and unexpected death. These delays are causing unnecessary secondary trauma, and we will not allow that to continue.

"If any person has grievances, they should know that they must follow established labour relations procedures," added Simelane-Zulu.